JSON-LD

Embed TRACE assessment data as structured JSON-LD in your HTML. Readable by search engines, CMS platforms, and any JSON-LD processor. The lowest-friction way to add TRACE metadata to web-published content.

@context: https://tracestandard.org/schema/v1
@type: TraceAssessment

Property Reference

Field	Type	Required	Description
@context	string	Required	Must be exactly `"https://tracestandard.org/schema/v1"`
@type	string	Required	Must be exactly `"TraceAssessment"`
project	string	Required	The name of the content project being assessed
track	"A" \| "B"	Required	Track A (community insider) or Track B (external/institutional)
verdict	"Exemplary" \| "Sound" \| "Developing" \| "Non-Compliant"	Required	The assessment verdict
totalScore	integer	Required	Total points scored
maxScore	integer	Required	Maximum possible points (20 for Track A, 35 for Track B)
assessedDate	ISO 8601 date	Required	Date the assessment was completed (YYYY-MM-DD)
assessorName	string	Optional	Name of the person or organization who conducted the assessment
assessorURL	URL	Optional	URL for the assessor's profile or organization page
scores	object	Optional	Per-category score breakdown (see Scores Object below)
improvementPlan	string	Optional	URL or brief description of the improvement plan (required for Developing verdict)
nextReviewDate	ISO 8601 date	Optional	Planned date for next assessment

Scores Object

The scores property is an object with category identifiers as keys. Each value is an object with score and max properties.

"scores": {
  "T": { "score": 3, "max": 4 },
  "R": { "score": 3, "max": 4 },
  ...
}

Track A — 6 categories

Key	Category	Max
T	Transparency	4
R	Representation	4
A	Accountability	3
C	Consent	4
E	Engagement	3
B	Community Benefit	2
	Total	20

Track B — 7 categories

Key	Category	Max
T	Transparency	6
R	Representation	6
A	Accountability	5
C	Consent	6
E	Engagement	5
S	Structural Benefit	4
D	Data Rights	3
	Total	35

Verdict Values

Track A thresholds

Verdict	Min Score	Max Score
Exemplary	18	20
Sound	14	17
Developing	10	13
Non-Compliant	0	9

Track B thresholds

Verdict	Min Score	Max Score
Exemplary	31	35
Sound	24	30
Developing	17	23
Non-Compliant	0	16

The verdict field must exactly match one of the four strings above. Parsers should be case-sensitive.

Examples

Example 1 — Minimal (Track A)

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://tracestandard.org/schema/v1",
  "@type": "TraceAssessment",
  "project": "Cariboo Signals — The Ranching Episode",
  "track": "A",
  "verdict": "Sound",
  "totalScore": 15,
  "maxScore": 20,
  "assessedDate": "2026-05-28"
}
</script>

Example 2 — Full with scores (Track A)

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://tracestandard.org/schema/v1",
  "@type": "TraceAssessment",
  "project": "Cariboo Signals — The Ranching Episode",
  "track": "A",
  "verdict": "Sound",
  "totalScore": 15,
  "maxScore": 20,
  "assessedDate": "2026-05-28",
  "assessorName": "Cariboo Signals",
  "assessorURL": "https://cariboosignals.ca",
  "scores": {
    "T": { "score": 3, "max": 4 },
    "R": { "score": 3, "max": 4 },
    "A": { "score": 2, "max": 3 },
    "C": { "score": 4, "max": 4 },
    "E": { "score": 2, "max": 3 },
    "B": { "score": 1, "max": 2 }
  },
  "improvementPlan": "https://cariboosignals.ca/trace-improvement-plan",
  "nextReviewDate": "2026-11-28"
}
</script>

Example 3 — Track B, Disqualified/Non-Compliant

<script type="application/ld+json">
{
  "@context": "https://tracestandard.org/schema/v1",
  "@type": "TraceAssessment",
  "project": "Example External Documentary Series",
  "track": "B",
  "verdict": "Non-Compliant",
  "totalScore": 12,
  "maxScore": 35,
  "assessedDate": "2026-05-28",
  "assessorName": "External Production Co.",
  "scores": {
    "T": { "score": 4, "max": 6 },
    "R": { "score": 3, "max": 6 },
    "A": { "score": 1, "max": 5 },
    "C": { "score": 2, "max": 6 },
    "E": { "score": 1, "max": 5 },
    "S": { "score": 1, "max": 4 },
    "D": { "score": 0, "max": 3 }
  },
  "improvementPlan": "Remediation plan in development. Publication paused."
}
</script>

HTML Embedding Pattern

Place the script tag in the <head> of the HTML page that hosts the content. One tag per page — if a page contains multiple assessed items, embed the assessment for the primary item.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <title>Article Title</title>

  <!-- TRACE assessment metadata -->
  <script type="application/ld+json">
  {
    "@context": "https://tracestandard.org/schema/v1",
    "@type": "TraceAssessment",
    "project": "Your Project Name",
    "track": "A",
    "verdict": "Sound",
    "totalScore": 15,
    "maxScore": 20,
    "assessedDate": "2026-05-28"
  }
  </script>
</head>
<body>
  <!-- page content -->
</body>
</html>

Multiple JSON-LD blocks on a single page are valid. Place TRACE data in its own block rather than merging with other schema.org types.

Validation Tools

Use these tools to verify your JSON-LD is well-formed before publishing.

Google Rich Results Test

search.google.com/test/rich-results

Validates structured data and previews how Google parses it.

JSON-LD Playground

json-ld.org/playground

Interactive JSON-LD parser and validator.

Schema.org Validator

validator.schema.org

Checks schema.org-compatible structured data.

TRACE Validator Coming soon

tracestandard.org/validate

Will validate TRACE-specific schema rules and thresholds.