Reference
Glossary
Every score on FamilyRoost is built from public data, and the terms behind it are defined here in plain language. Where a term has a deeper write-up, we link to it.
- AEAM
- Alberta Education Assurance Measures: the annual survey of parents, students, and teachers on safety, engagement, and education quality.
- Read the full methodology →
- Catchment
- The designated-school boundary for your home address. We also show the specialty programs and lottery options your address opens.
- EFI
- Early French Immersion: CBE's French-immersion alternative program starting in Kindergarten/Grade 1. You apply rather than being assigned, and your address determines its designated EFI school.
- Fraser
- The Fraser Institute's school ranking (out of 10). We show it for context but it is not part of the Roost Rating: half of it is the average exam mark we already read, and it largely tracks neighbourhood income. We publish a critique.
- Read the full methodology →
- PAT
- Provincial Achievement Test: Alberta's standardized Grade 6/9 exams. We rate on the school's 3-year share of students meeting the Acceptable Standard (Alberta's equated benchmark), and also show the Standard of Excellence share and the 3-year average exam mark.
- Read the full methodology →
- PND
- Pending: we don't yet have enough source data to give this school a Roost Rating. Pending is never a judgment: the school's profile shows exactly which sources are missing.
- Read the full methodology →
- Roost field research
- FamilyRoost's human-checked operational signals (grade truncation, recent incidents, community strength, leadership churn, capacity pressure) applied on top of the data sources.
- Read the full methodology →
- Roost Rating
- FamilyRoost's blended school score combining Alberta's provincial exam results, the AEAM survey, and Roost field research, shown as a letter grade. The Fraser Institute's ranking is displayed for context but is not part of the score.
- Read the full methodology →
- SES
- Socioeconomic status: neighbourhood income/education level, which correlates strongly with raw test scores.
- Read the full methodology →
- SIRR
- School Information & Results Report: the CBE PDF where each school's AEAM survey results are published.
- Read the full methodology →
Looking for the big picture? How we score schools.