If you've ever commissioned an online course, you've probably been asked which standard it should be published in. SCORM, xAPI, and cmi5 are the three names you'll hear most often. They all define how an eLearning course talks to a learning management system (LMS) — but they differ a lot in what they can track and where learning can happen.
SCORM: the reliable workhorse
SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) packages a course as a zip file that you upload to your LMS and launch in the browser. It reliably reports the essentials:
- Completion and pass/fail status for every learner
- Scores from quizzes and assessments
- Time spent in the course
- Bookmarking, so learners can resume where they left off
Almost every LMS on the market supports SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004, which makes it the safest choice when compatibility matters most. SCORM 2004 adds sequencing rules, so you can control the order learners move through content and branch based on their results.
The bigger limitation of SCORM is scope. It only tracks what happens inside a course launched from the LMS, during an active browser session. Mobile apps, offline learning, simulations, on-the-job activities, and informal learning sit outside its reach.
xAPI: tracking learning anywhere
xAPI (Experience API, sometimes called Tin Can) was designed to solve that. Instead of reporting a handful of fixed fields, xAPI records learning as simple actor – verb – object statements:
"Priya completed the fire safety simulation." "Rahul watched the onboarding video." "The sales team practised the objection-handling scenario."
These statements are stored in a Learning Record Store (LRS) and can come from almost anywhere — courses, mobile apps, games, virtual classrooms, or real-world activities. L&D teams get much richer data, but it takes an LRS and some planning around what you actually want to measure.
cmi5: the best of both
cmi5 is a profile of xAPI that adds clear rules for how courses are launched, registered, and marked complete from an LMS. You get the familiar structure of SCORM with the flexibility and modern tracking of xAPI — a strong option for organisations that want future-ready content but still manage training through a central LMS.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | SCORM 1.2 | SCORM 2004 | xAPI | cmi5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it tracks | Completion, score, time | Adds objectives and sequencing | Any learning activity | Course results plus any xAPI data |
| Where learning happens | Browser, launched from LMS | Browser, launched from LMS | Anywhere — apps, sims, offline | Launched from LMS, content can live anywhere |
| Resume data limit | 4,096 characters | 64,000 characters | No fixed limit | No fixed limit |
| What you need | Any LMS | Most LMSs | An LRS | An LMS with cmi5 support |
| Best for | Maximum compatibility | Structured, branching courses | Rich analytics across platforms | Modern LMS-based programmes |
Which one should you choose?
You need your course to work on virtually any LMS, and standard completion tracking is enough.
You need sequencing, longer courses with reliable resume, or more detailed objective tracking.
You want detailed insight into learning across apps, devices, simulations, and real-world activities.
You want modern xAPI tracking but still launch and report through a central LMS.
Before you commit, run through these quick checks with your team:
- 1Ask your LMS vendor which versions they support — SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 (and which edition), xAPI, and cmi5.
- 2Decide what you need to report on — just completions and scores, or detailed learner behaviour.
- 3Consider where learners will be — at a desk in the LMS, or on mobile, offline, and in the field.
- 4Test a sample package on your actual LMS before full production begins.
- SCORM is the most compatible standard and covers completion, score, and time tracking.
- SCORM 2004 fixes the 4,096-character resume limit of SCORM 1.2 and adds sequencing.
- xAPI tracks learning anywhere, but needs a Learning Record Store.
- cmi5 combines LMS-friendly launching with modern xAPI tracking.
- Always test a sample package on your target LMS before full production.
At Codemarine Technologies, we build Articulate Storyline 360 and custom HTML5 courses published to SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, xAPI, and cmi5 — and we test every package on your target LMS before delivery. Browse our SCORM course samples to see the quality we deliver.
We'll review your LMS, audience, and reporting goals and recommend the right format — free of charge.