Make SCORM Work: Fix Lost Completions and Restore Reliable LMS Reporting

SCORM remains the most widely used eLearning content standard in the world. Yet searches for:

• SCORM lost completions
• SCORM bookmarking not working
• SCORM 2004 incomplete failed
• SCORM mobile issues
• SCORM debugging LMS

continue to rise.

Why? Although SCORM is a standard, it isn’t always “set and forget.” When issues show up, they typically appear at runtime, when learners are taking the course inside an LMS.

In our recent webinar, Rustici Software joined dominKnow to break down why SCORM reporting fails, and how to fix it at the course, LMS, and governance levels.

Webinar Replay: Make SCORM Work: From Lost Completions to Reliable Learning Data

Let’s dive into some of the insights and practical advice we gained from this webinar.

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What Is SCORM—and Why Is It Still Everywhere?

SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) was introduced in the early 2000s by ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning), an initiative of the U.S. Department of Defense.

SCORM didn’t appear out of nowhere. Before SCORM, the primary interoperability standard in eLearning was AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Committee). AICC enabled early communication between content and learning systems, typically through HTTP-based methods (HACP). It was widely adopted in aviation, defense, and early enterprise learning.

As web-based learning matured, teams needed an approach that was easier to deploy consistently across LMS environments, including:

• A standardized packaging format
• A consistent, browser-based runtime API
• More predictable interoperability between content and LMS platforms
• More reliable bookmarking and state management

SCORM addressed these needs by combining:

• A standardized ZIP-based packaging model
• A JavaScript runtime API for browser communication
• A defined data model for tracking completion, success, score, suspend data, and time

That combination made SCORM more consistent to implement across LMS platforms and easier for organizations to operationalize at scale.

 During the webinar, Chris Tompkins summarized SCORM’s enduring role:

“The SCORM standard is to the e-learning industry what the MP3 standard is to the music industry…”

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The “Big Four”: What SCORM Tracks at Runtime

At runtime, SCORM tracks four primary data elements:

1. Completion status
2. Success status (pass/fail)
3. Score
4. Time

These form the backbone of LMS reporting. When any of them fail to record correctly, LMS data becomes unreliable, which is why so many SCORM troubleshooting issues trace back to how these values are set, committed, and rolled up.

Completion status

Completion answers: Did the learner finish?‍

In SCORM 1.2, this is typically handled through a single status field (often interpreted via values such as not attempted, incomplete, completed, passed, failed). In SCORM 2004, completion is separated from success, which improves clarity.

If completion doesn’t transmit properly, often because the session doesn’t end cleanly, the LMS may show “Incomplete” even if the learner reached the end.

Success status (pass/fail)

Success determines whether the learner met the performance threshold. SCORM 2004 separates completion and success so you can clearly see outcomes like “Completed + Failed” versus “Incomplete + Unknown.” This also means rollup and sequencing settings matter more. (If this is new to you, don’t worry, we’ll cover it in more detail in Part 2.)

Score

Score represents performance, typically as a percentage. SCORM supports raw/min/max values, allowing the LMS to calculate mastery. Score issues, when they arise, typically come from mastery mismatches, LMS interpretation differences, or multi-assessment designs that only report the last score.

Time

Time tracking measures how long a learner spends in a course session. In many LMS environments, total time is accumulated across sessions. Time is frequently used for CE credits, compliance documentation, seat-time validation, and billing models. If the session doesn’t terminate correctly, time may not be committed.

The #1 SCORM Problem: Lost Completions

“Lost completion” is one of the most common SCORM troubleshooting training searches, and one of the most common LMS support tickets.

Typical scenario:

• Learner completes the course
• Learner sees a completion message
• Learner closes the window or tab
• LMS shows “Incomplete”

This mismatch is usually the result of an exit/termination issue. At minimum, SCORM must:

• Initialize communication
• Terminate communication

If termination fails, completion may never roll up.

Why Proper Exits and Exit Buttons Are Critical

Many SCORM runtime failures happen because learners exit in ways the course doesn’t anticipate, for example, closing the course window instead of clicking an Exit button or closing the LMS window before exiting the course.

A proper SCORM exit should:

• Send final completion status
• Commit suspend data (bookmarking)
• Call terminate
• Return control to the LMS

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Practical ways to reduce lost completions:

• Provide a clear, visible Exit button
• Use a completion/results screen that instructs learners to exit properly
• Test the “likely learner behaviors” (close tab, back button, mobile sleep/wake)
• Where possible, avoid relying on a single “completion only on exit” moment

Next: In Part 2, we’ll cover SCORM 1.2 vs 2004 rollup, bookmarking failures, cross-domain issues, xAPI considerations, a step-by-step debugging checklist, and how dominKnow | ONE can help you mitigate a great many of these problems.