I have heard that officials selected for state finals often have been evaluated in person by IHSA staff, but there is no way that IHSA administrators can criss-cross the state and personally observe and evaluate all officials each year, so a "point system" is used to help state administrators select officials for the various levels of post-season play.
All officials working towards a goal of working post-season play must view an online presentation at the beginning of a season and then must pass an online test in that sport, gaining a certain number of "power points" for each level of scoring - for example, a perfect score on the online test earns an official 5 power points. In addition to these criteria, an official must pass an online concussion awareness test. Finally, another criteria for earning points is to attend a Level 1/2 clinic. These clinics discuss new rule changes and/or expectations for the upcoming sports season.
The next area of points awarded to an official regard the number of varsity games worked. The more varsity games an official works, the more points he/she earns. The IHSA also does track the level of the varsity contests - whether they were 1A/2A games or 3A/4A games. Based on the number of games worked, then, another points criteria is ratings by coaches. After each game, the participating coaches are suppose to rate the officials. Officials earn more power points if the coaches submit more ratings. Something I now do to help remind coaches to rate me is to send out an email reminder. (I just send out an email reminding coaches of the game worked and ask for a rating and consideration in their Top 15 list.) Another scoring criteria based on coaches input is the Top 15 lists. Coaches are asked to compile of the Top 15 officials in their area, and officials receive more powerpoints if they appear on more Top 15 lists of coaches.
The other two areas of scoring include promotion level and previous post-season experience. It takes time and recommendations for an official to be promoted. All officials start out as registered, work to advance to the recognized level, and eventually work to become certified. To be selected for post-season play, an official needs to be at the certified level, although occasionally recognized officials to work regionals. Previous post-season experience, is just what it is - points are awarded for previous post-season experience. Below is an explanation of the 7 criteria for earning power points.
From IHSA.org
How the Power Rating is Determined: The power rating is a number from 0 to 35, derived from 7 different criteria, as follows:
- Promotion level: Certified (C) -- 5 pts., Recognized (R) -- 3 pts., Registered (X) -- 1 pt.
- Part 1 exam score: 96 -- 5 pts., 92 -- 4 pts., 88 -- 3 pts., 84 -- 2 pts, 80 -- 1 pt.
- Previous tournament experience for contests by this gender: state final -- 5 pts., super-sectional or football semifinal -- 4 pts., sectional or football quarterfinal -- 3 pts., football second-round game -- 2 pts., regional or other football playoff game -- 1 pt.
- Contest ratings (percentile rank of all officials): 90% -- 5 pts., 80% -- 4 pts., 70% -- 3 pts., 60% -- 2 pts., 50% -- 1 pt.
- Top 15 lists (percentile rank of all officials): 90% -- 5 pts., 80% -- 4 pts., 70% -- 3 pts. 60% -- 2 pts., 50% -- 1 pt.
- Clinic attendance (most recent clinic): this year -- 5 pts., last year -- 3 pts., two years ago -- 1 pt.
- Varsity games worked (percentage of games a school is allowed to play in the regular season in that sport): 70% -- 5 pts., 60% -- 4 pts., 50% -- 3 pts., 40% -- 2 pts., 30% -- 1 pt.
Below are my "records" since becoming an IHSA official. Notice that one category exist with a lot of zeros - ratings by official. When I first started, officials rated other officials, but that hasn't existed since the 2013-14 school year. You also see that in basketball my "numbers" dropped during the 14-15, 15-16, and 16-17 seasons. The reason for this was that I didn't work as many games because I was coaching basketball at Rockridge where I teach. Now that I have returned to "full-time" officiating in basketball, my hope is to build up my numbers again - in boys and girls basketball. Where I have the most experience and powerpoints is in softball. I don't have as many ratings by coach this year because our spring rain, cold, and snow canceled many games, which in turn caused a drop in ratings.
Basketball
B
| School Term | Ratings by Coach | Ratings by Official | Rating Percentile | Top 15 Percentile | Date Computed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 6/9/12 | |
| 2012-13 | 10 | 3 | 41 | 34 | 6/16/13 |
| 2013-14 | 15 | 0 | 55 | 54 | 6/25/14 |
| 2014-15 | 3 | 0 | 57 | 26 | 6/16/15 |
| 2015-16 | 9 | 0 | 57 | 26 | 6/19/16 |
| 2016-17 | 3 | 0 | 54 | 2 | 6/18/17 |
| 2017-18 | 14 | 0 | 50 | 9 | 5/10/18 |
G
| School Term | Ratings by Coach | Ratings by Official | Rating Percentile | Top 15 Percentile | Date Computed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12 | 9 | 3 | 39 | 6/9/12 | |
| 2012-13 | 11 | 2 | 55 | 39 | 6/16/13 |
| 2013-14 | 38 | 0 | 82 | 74 | 6/25/14 |
| 2014-15 | 1 | 0 | 82 | 58 | 6/16/15 |
| 2015-16 | 5 | 0 | 77 | 60 | 6/19/16 |
| 2016-17 | 5 | 0 | 72 | 61 | 6/18/17 |
| 2017-18 | 26 | 0 | 66 | 59 | 5/10/18 |
Softball
G
| School Term | Ratings by Coach | Ratings by Official | Rating Percentile | Top 15 Percentile | Date Computed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-11 | 9 | 0 | 37 | 22 | 7/5/11 |
| 2011-12 | 18 | 3 | 61 | 54 | 6/9/12 |
| 2012-13 | 16 | 2 | 71 | 74 | 6/16/13 |
| 2013-14 | 37 | 0 | 85 | 85 | 6/25/14 |
| 2014-15 | 17 | 0 | 87 | 85 | 6/16/15 |
| 2015-16 | 23 | 0 | 87 | 68 | 6/19/16 |
| 2016-17 | 39 | 0 | 91 | 89 | 6/18/17 |
| 2017-18 | 24 | 0 | 91 | 95 | 5/10/18 |
BELOW ARE MY "STATS" FOR MY CURRENT POWERPOINTS IN BASKETBALL AND SOFTBALL.
Boys Basketball
| Criterion | Value | Points |
|---|---|---|
| License Level | C | 5 |
| Score on Part 1 Exam | 96 | 5 |
| Previous tournament experience (this gender) | none | 0 |
| Contest ratings percentile | 50 | 1 |
| Top 15 list percentile | 9 | 0 |
| Most recent clinic | 11/5/2017 | 5 |
| Varsity games worked | 16 | 5 |
| TOTAL POWER POINTS | 21 |
Girls Basketball
| Criterion | Value | Points |
|---|---|---|
| License Level | C | 5 |
| Score on Part 1 Exam | 96 | 5 |
| Previous tournament experience (this gender) | Regional | 1 |
| Contest ratings percentile | 66 | 2 |
| Top 15 list percentile | 59 | 1 |
| Most recent clinic | 11/5/2017 | 5 |
| Varsity games worked | 21 | 5 |
| TOTAL POWER POINTS | 24 |
Girls Softball
| Criterion | Value | Points |
|---|---|---|
| License Level | C | 5 |
| Score on Part 1 Exam | 100 | 5 |
| Previous tournament experience (this gender) | Regional | 1 |
| Contest ratings percentile | 91 | 5 |
| Top 15 list percentile | 95 | 5 |
| Most recent clinic | 3/3/2018 | 5 |
| Varsity games worked | 36 | 5 |
| TOTAL POWER POINTS | 31 |
So does all of this rating "stuff" prove that a person is a good official? I suppose that could be debated, and I think it's reasonable to believe that good officiating cannot completely be measured by a scale like this. This "system", though, is a starting point for the IHSA an opportunity to select officials for post season play that have experience and have received ratings by coaches. And for officials genuinely interested in working post-season play, it's a way for them to monitor progress and earn those assignments.
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