SCORM 1.2 vs SCORM 2004: Which Should You Use?
When you export a course from Articulate, Captivate, or iSpring, you'll be asked to choose a SCORM version. For modern platforms, the answer is usually SCORM 2004. Here's why — and when SCORM 1.2 might still make sense.
The quick answer
Both work in Ethica, so pick SCORM 2004 4th Edition if your tool offers it. It saves far more progress data, which matters for long courses, and it reports "finished" and "passed" separately. Choose SCORM 1.2 only if the course also has to run in an older system that doesn't support 2004.
What's actually different between them
Both versions do the same job: they let a course report completion, scores and time spent back to the platform that plays it. The differences are in capacity and precision:
| Feature | SCORM 1.2 | SCORM 2004 |
|---|---|---|
| Completion tracking | Combined lesson_status (blends completion and pass/fail) |
Separate completion_status and success_status |
| Score precision | Raw score, a decimal normally 0–100 | Scaled score from −1 to 1, plus raw, min and max |
| Suspend data limit | 4,096 characters (can break resume in long courses) | 64,000 characters (3rd and 4th Editions; 4,000 in 2nd Edition) |
| Progress tracking | None | progress_measure field (0.0–1.0 tracking) |
Why suspend data matters (The 4K Limit)
The biggest practical difference between the two is the suspend_data limitation. When a learner closes a course halfway through, the course saves their place using suspend data.
According to the SCORM 1.2 specification, this save file is limited to 4,096 characters. When a highly interactive course exceeds this limit, some platforms truncate or reject the extra data, and the learner can lose their place. SCORM 2004 3rd and 4th Editions raised the limit to 64,000 characters. While many modern platforms (including Ethica) can safely store data beyond the 1.2 limit anyway, SCORM 2004 remains the safer choice to guarantee compatibility.
When to use SCORM 2004
- Your delivery platform is Ethica or any modern LMS
- Your course is over 30 minutes long or contains complex interactive elements
- You want clean separation between "Did they finish?" and "Did they pass?"
- You need to track granular progress percentages (e.g., "50% complete")
When SCORM 1.2 still makes sense
- You are delivering training to older legacy LMS platforms (often found in highly regulated or self-hosted enterprise environments)
- You're converting existing legacy training and just need to maintain the status quo
What Ethica supports
Ethica runs SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 (2nd, 3rd and 4th Edition) courses packaged as a single SCO, which is the usual output of Storyline, Rise, Captivate and iSpring. It doesn't run SCORM 2004 sequencing across multiple SCOs. In either version, a course counts as complete when it reports completed or passed; a failed result doesn't complete it. You don't need an LMS: employees open the course from an email link. What is SCORM, and how to use a SCORM file without an LMS.
Our recommendation
Export as SCORM 2004 (4th Edition). It gives you the largest suspend-data limit (64,000 characters) and separate completion and pass/fail statuses. Most current platforms support it.
Once you've exported your package, see how to check it before distributing: How to test a SCORM package before you upload it.