Four standards are supported, plus a fallback for plain web content. You do not choose the standard — it is detected from the package itself when it is uploaded.
The standards
- SCORM 1.2 — the most widely produced standard, and the safest thing to ask a supplier for. One combined status, a score out of a maximum, and time spent.
- SCORM 2004 4th Edition — keeps completion and pass/fail separate, adds scaled scores, and allows far more bookmark data.
- xAPI (Tin Can) — reports a stream of detailed activity records into the built-in Learning Record Store.
- cmi5 — a modern profile built on xAPI, with courses made of Assignable Units and explicit rules for when each counts as satisfied.
- Plain content — a package with no manifest plays as ordinary web content. Useful for video and reference material, but it reports nothing back, so there is no completion or score.
Which should you ask for?
If you have no reason to prefer otherwise, ask for SCORM 1.2. It has the widest tool support and the fewest surprises. Choose cmi5 or xAPI when you need richer reporting than a single status and score, or where content must run outside a normal browser frame.
The practical difference between SCORM 1.2 and 2004
The bookmark allowance. SCORM 1.2 permits roughly 4,000 characters of saved state; 2004 permits around 64,000. A long, branching course can exhaust the 1.2 limit and lose a learner's place. If an author reports that problem, ask for a 2004 export.
Worked Examples
- Off-the-shelf compliance library: almost always SCORM 1.2 — take it as supplied.
- Bespoke branching scenario: SCORM 2004, for the larger bookmark allowance.
- Blended programme with external activities: cmi5, so classroom and on-the-job elements report alongside the online ones.
- Induction videos: plain content, with completion tracked by your own application rather than by the package.