Navigate hierarchies

get_standard_context expands one exact standard into its retained package-local source hierarchy. It returns direct parents, optional direct children, bounded ancestor and descendant traversals, optional complete root paths, and any retained non-empty relationship-resolution statuses encountered in that context.

The tool reports structural placement. It does not infer prerequisites, progression, difficulty, instructional order, or learner mastery.

Context model

%%{init: {"themeVariables": {"fontSize": "18px"}}}%%
flowchart TB
    R[Framework root]
    A[Ancestor grouping]
    P[Direct parent]
    S[Selected standard]
    C[Direct child]
    D[Deeper descendant]
    R --> A
    A --> P
    P --> S
    S --> C
    C --> D

Hold "Alt" / "Option" to enable pan & zoom

A real package may be a tree or a multi-parent directed acyclic graph. A selected node can therefore have several direct parents and more than one complete root path.

Start from an exact node

Context lookup is node-ID based. Usually the node comes from search_standards or get_standard.

For the Ghana English Indicator B1.2.7.2.6, the retained node ID is:

aa4cdccd-e5d9-589c-8094-e10d7ac0c754

A default context request is:

{
  "request": {
    "frameworkId": "ghana-nacca-primary-english-language-basic-1-3",
    "nodeId": "aa4cdccd-e5d9-589c-8094-e10d7ac0c754"
  }
}

The defaults request direct parents, direct children, ancestors to depth 16, and all bounded root paths. Descendants beyond direct children are not included unless includeDescendants is enabled.

Request fields and bounds

Field	Default	Purpose
`frameworkId`	—	Framework family selector; required unless `snapshotId` is supplied
`snapshotId`	`null`	Optional exact immutable snapshot
`graphType`	`academic_standards`	Selected graph domain
`nodeId`	—	Exact package-local standard node
`ancestorDepth`	`16`	Maximum ancestor traversal depth, 0–64
`childDepth`	`1`	Maximum descendant traversal depth, 0–64
`includeDirectChildren`	`true`	Return immediate children
`includeDescendants`	`false`	Return bounded descendants
`includeAllRootPaths`	`true`	Enumerate bounded complete paths to the framework root
`includeUnresolved`	`true`	Preserve accepted unresolved relationship statuses
`maxNodes`	`250`	Maximum nodes in each bounded traversal, 1–2000
`maxPaths`	`128`	Maximum root paths, 1–1000
`maxPathNodeOccurrences`	`8192`	Aggregate node-occurrence bound across root paths
`relationshipTypes`	`[]`	Optional explicit package hierarchy label; at most one value

The canonical context tool operates only on the selected package's configured hierarchy relationship type. Supplying a different relationship label is rejected rather than silently switching graph semantics.

includeUnresolved must remain true; the canonical tool does not permit accepted unresolved relationship status to be hidden from returned hierarchy evidence.

Direct parents and children

Direct relationships preserve the exact adjacent node and relationship record. This is the best evidence for answering questions such as:

What is the immediate source parent of this Indicator?

or:

What source statements are directly grouped under this Content Standard?

Do not assume that directParents.neighbors contains exactly one item. The current runtime supports valid multi-parent packages.

Ancestor traversal

Ancestor traversal returns the origin at depth 0, followed by distinct reachable ancestors in deterministic depth-then-source order.

A focused ancestor-only request can disable children and root-path enumeration:

{
  "request": {
    "frameworkId": "ghana-nacca-primary-english-language-basic-1-3",
    "nodeId": "aa4cdccd-e5d9-589c-8094-e10d7ac0c754",
    "ancestorDepth": 6,
    "includeDirectChildren": false,
    "includeAllRootPaths": false,
    "maxNodes": 100
  }
}

Use this when you need a compact neighborhood rather than every path to the framework root.

Descendant traversal

Enable descendants explicitly when you start from a grouping node and need more than its immediate children:

{
  "request": {
    "frameworkId": "ghana-nacca-primary-english-language-basic-1-3",
    "nodeId": "98490a17-1715-57eb-9375-6a3c4925c697",
    "ancestorDepth": 4,
    "childDepth": 3,
    "includeDescendants": true,
    "includeDirectChildren": true,
    "maxNodes": 250
  }
}

Descendant traversal remains bounded and package-local. It is not a substitute for unbounded graph export.

Complete root paths

When includeAllRootPaths is true, the result attempts to enumerate every requested complete path from the framework root to the selected standard within the established bounds.

This distinction matters in a DAG. An ancestor set tells you which nodes are reachable; root paths preserve the actual branch combinations through which the selected node is placed in the source structure.

%%{init: {"themeVariables": {"fontSize": "18px"}}}%%
flowchart LR
    R[Framework] --> A[Grouping A]
    R --> B[Grouping B]
    A --> X[Shared standard]
    B --> X

Hold "Alt" / "Option" to enable pan & zoom

For the shared standard above, a single-parent-chain assumption would lose one source placement. rootPaths.paths can retain both branches when the package and traversal bounds allow them.

Completion and truncation evidence

Bounded traversal results explicitly report whether they are complete. Possible truncation reasons are:

Reason	Meaning
`max_nodes`	Traversal reached the configured node bound
`max_paths`	Root-path enumeration reached the path-count bound
`max_path_node_occurrences`	Aggregate root-path node occurrences reached the configured bound

If isComplete is false, describe the returned graph evidence as bounded or partial. Do not state that all ancestors, descendants, or paths were returned.

A truncation bound is evidence

Increasing a bound can retrieve more graph context, but a client should not hide or reinterpret an established truncation reason. Preserve it with any conclusions based on the partial result.

Relationship resolution status

relationshipStatuses collects non-empty resolution statuses from the relationships included across direct, traversal, and root-path evidence.

A non-empty unresolved or special resolution status is part of the accepted source-to- graph evidence. It should remain visible in downstream interpretation rather than being converted into an ordinary confirmed parent-child claim.

Hierarchy is not progression

A hasChild path can answer:

Where is this item placed in the retained curriculum structure?

It cannot, by itself, answer:

What must a learner master first?

or:

Does this standard represent the next instructional step?

Those are stronger interpretations that require separate evidence. The server's progression workflow therefore uses explicit grade-scoped candidate collection and still labels any resulting progression as inferred rather than source-asserted.

Natural-language example

Retrieve the exact hierarchy context for Ghana English Indicator B1.2.7.2.6. Show its
direct parent, direct children, all complete root paths within the tool bounds, local
statement-type labels, relationship IDs, and any non-empty relationship resolution
statuses. If a traversal is truncated, say so. Describe hasChild only as source
structure and do not infer a prerequisite or learning progression.

Choosing the next tool

Use get_standard_context after a specific search hit when hierarchy placement matters. Use compare_framework_evidence instead when the question requires symmetric bounded retrieval from several frameworks. Use collect_progression_evidence only when the question explicitly asks for grade-scoped candidate evidence for a later inferred progression review.

Next: Compare framework evidence