Works in SCORM Cloud but not in your LMS: what to check next

Find the rule your LMS applies differently

• The LMS applies the mastery score and SCORM Cloud doesn't. The mastery score is the pass mark written in the course's manifest (imsmanifest.xml, the file that tells the LMS how to launch the course). In SCORM 1.2, SCORM Cloud's “Mastery Score Overrides Lesson Status” setting is off by default (we checked in September 2026), so it keeps the passed or failed the course sends. Moodle's equivalent is on by default, so it judges the score against the mastery score instead. When the quiz pass mark and the mastery score differ, the two record different results. See mastery score vs quiz passing score.
• The LMS counts a different status as “complete”. SCORM Cloud treats “passed” as complete. A new Moodle SCORM activity, by default, only counts “completed”, so a learner who passes stays not complete. See Moodle SCORM not marked complete.
• The LMS turns “no pass result” into a grade. A course that reports completed/incomplete never says passed or failed. SCORM Cloud shows it as complete with an unknown result. Course authors report that Workday Learning shows a grade of “failed” instead. See Workday shows “failed”.
• The LMS opens the course differently. Course authors report that Storyline courses playing inside the window SAP SuccessFactors opens often record no progress, and that publishing with Storyline's “Launch player in new window” fixes it. SAP documents that content opened inline can fail to connect to the LMS. See SuccessFactors SCORM not completing.
• The LMS accepts less. Docebo's documentation lists SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 3rd Edition, with a 1,024 MB upload limit, and asks learners to leave through the course's own Close button. TalentLMS's documentation says it accepts only SCORM 1.2 packages. See Docebo not completing a course.

Fix it in Storyline, Rise or Captivate, or in the LMS

1. Change the setting the note names

   Most fixes are in the authoring tool's tracking and reporting options. In Storyline, those are under Publish → LMS / LRS → Reporting and Tracking (the “Report status to LMS as:” drop-down is on its LMS tab). In Rise, they are under Publish → LMS. In Captivate, they are in the quiz reporting preferences. The LMS pages linked above give the exact change for each LMS.

2. Or change the LMS setting

   Some differences are LMS settings, such as Moodle's completion condition. If your LMS admin can change it for this course, the package can stay as it is.

3. Republish and check again

   Publish again, drop the new zip into Alder with the same LMS picked, and repeat the test run. When the dot for your LMS says “same as SCORM Cloud” and SCORM Cloud records what you expect, test one learner in the real LMS before rollout.

If the package isn't the cause

Pop-up blockers, browser privacy settings, the LMS's own launch settings and session timeouts can all stop tracking in one LMS and not another. No package checker can see these, Alder included. If every dot says “same as SCORM Cloud” and it still fails, ask your LMS admin to launch it as a learner with the browser's developer tools open; Docebo, for example, has a SCORM debug option for this.

Check the zip before you upload it again (free)

Course not completing in your LMS? Check your course for this. Alder puts the matching problems first and gives you a short test script.

1. Drop the published zip

   Open Alder and drop the zip you uploaded to SCORM Cloud. It is read in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

2. Pick your LMS

   Choose it under “Uploading to” at the top of the results (or “Where is this course going?” before you drop the zip). Alder knows seven: SAP SuccessFactors, Moodle, Workday Learning, Cornerstone, Canvas, Docebo and TalentLMS. Its notes then appear under “What we found”, each with its sources.

3. Take the course as a learner

   Click “Launch the course”, take the path a real learner would, and click “I'm done”. “What an LMS would record” shows SCORM Cloud's result, and under it every LMS gets a dot: same as SCORM Cloud, differs, or may differ.

   

4. Read why

   The dots are free for every LMS. The notes for SuccessFactors, Moodle and Workday are free too: pick one and its notes show what differs and what to change. The “Why?” behind each dot, and the notes for Cornerstone, Canvas, Docebo and TalentLMS, come with Pro, except anything that would block the upload, which is always shown.

5. Send the report to your LMS admin

   After the test run, “Download report” saves what Alder found, what an LMS would record, the LMS you picked and, in the technical appendix for LMS admins, every call the course made. It is a plain record of what the course does, which helps when the question is whether the course or the LMS is at fault.

Alder's LMS profiles come from vendor documentation, Moodle's published code and reports from course authors. None has been tested on a real instance of that LMS yet, and each note says so (“Based on documented reports”). Treat a dot as the place to look first, then confirm with one test learner in the LMS.

LMS notes

• Moodle is open source, so its defaults come from its code: the SCORM site settings and the SCORM activity form.
• SAP SuccessFactors documents content that fails to communicate when opened inline in KBA 2808684 (an SAP login is needed).
• Cornerstone publishes its own course troubleshooting guide. Alder's Cornerstone profile records the same results as SCORM Cloud, because no source says what Cornerstone records differently.

Why it happens

“It works in SCORM Cloud” comes up in almost every forum thread about a course that won't track. It is a useful first test, because it rules out a broken package. But SCORM, the standard that lets a course talk to an LMS, leaves some decisions to the LMS, and each LMS makes them its own way.

Still not working?

• Learners losing their place only in your LMS: SCORM 1.2 only promises 4,096 characters of saved progress, and some LMSs cut it short. See the suspend_data limit.