The Washington Post Introduces a New System for Rating High School Passers

Sometimes, great invention is born out of inspiration, a eureka moment with lasting effect. Think Franklin flying a kite, or Newton taking an apple to the head.

In the case of The Washington Post High School Passer Rating, which was created during the past month and makes its debut today, the impetus for creation was a simple case of minor frustration.

It started with a pair of Montgomery County quarterbacks.

On Oct. 10, Churchill's Curran Chabra led his team to a 49-27 win over Northwest with a nearly flawless display of passing: 10 completions in 12 attempts for 253 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.

Six days later, Wootton's Mike Mooney set a state record with 451 passing yards in a win over Blair. He also threw three touchdowns and no interceptions, while completing 26 of 43 attempts.

Performances such as these invited comparison, but that's where the problem existed: How?

When there are multiple statistical measurements involved in the performances of high school passers, how can they be compared?

No established rating for high schools exists online, and Bob Colgate, assistant director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, said he didn't know of any such rating in use.

Once it became apparent that the NFL's passer rating didn't produce a straightforward comparison for Chabra and Mooney, and the NCAA's didn't either, two questions emerged: Why not just create a high school passer rating? And why not make it more relatable to the general public?

From there, The Washington Post High School Passer Rating was born.

Like the others, it is strictly a measure of passing. It is not meant to judge overall quarterback quality, because there's no feasible way to include rushing statistics or the glorified intangibles associated with being a quarterback: leadership, poise, penchant for last-minute heroics, etc.

The formula (see graphic) also uses the same four categories as the NFL and NCAA -- touchdowns per attempts, interceptions per attempts, completion percentage and yards per attempt -- but the high school rating adds a fifth category: a modified touchdown-to-interception ratio.