ELEARNSY PRACTICAL GUIDE
SCORM testing checklist.
Check what the learner does. Verify what the LMS records.
A course can look finished and still lose a score, complete too early or fail to resume. Use this checklist before release, after a tracking change or when investigating a learner report.
Start with a test account and a known version.
Use a test area in the intended LMS and permission to upload the material. Keep the published ZIP and editable source together. Run these checks against agreed expectations, rather than treating any green status as proof that the course works.
1. Write down the expected result
Before uploading, record the authoring tool, publish format, course version, tracking rule and pass mark if there is one. Define what the LMS should show for an unfinished attempt, a failed attempt and a passed attempt. Completion and passing are different outcomes; the available status fields depend on the SCORM version and reporting options.
2. Inspect the package
Use a fresh export and keep its filename and version with your test notes. Inspect the manifest, launch reference and required files. Elearnsy’s SCORM Check & Compare can inspect the ZIP and compare releases in your browser. A clean package report does not prove the course can launch or report to an LMS.
3. Launch as a learner
Upload to a test course in the intended LMS. Use a learner account and the devices and browsers your audience needs. Confirm that the course opens, media loads and required controls work. Follow the intended route and look for steps that a learner cannot reach or leave.
4. Leave before completing
Start a fresh attempt, make some progress and exit before meeting the tracking rule. Check the LMS result against your expected unfinished state. Record the last screen reached and any score shown. This catches courses that mark completion too early or lose progress on exit.
5. Test a failed and a passed attempt
If there is an assessment, run a deliberate failure and a deliberate pass using separate fresh attempts. Capture the score inside the course and the result displayed in the LMS. Check the threshold and selected reporting options. For a course without an assessment, test the activity or completion trigger you selected instead.
6. Exit, relaunch and resume
Leave partway through, close the course through the intended exit route and relaunch it. Check the restored location, answers and other progress relevant to your design. Repeat after completion. Confirm whether learners should resume, restart or enter a review state; do not assume every LMS handles completed attempts in the same way.
7. Check retry and update behaviour
Test any learner retry or LMS reset you intend to allow. Confirm which score and status the LMS retains. If replacing a published course, use a staging copy to check the LMS update process with existing test attempts. Keep the previous package and a rollback plan; never use real learner records for an experiment.
8. Record evidence and retest the fix
For each failure, note the course version, LMS, browser, device, exact steps, expected result and observed result. Add screenshots of the course and LMS outcome. After a change, repeat the failed test and the connected learner journeys. A changed pass rule, for example, warrants checking failure, passing and resume again.
A compact test record.
Copy these fields into your issue tracker:
- Test ID and date
- Course filename, version and publish settings
- LMS, account type, browser and device
- Starting state: fresh, partial, failed or completed
- Steps performed
- Expected course and LMS result
- Observed result and evidence
- Pass/fail, issue owner and retest result
Package checks and runtime checks answer different questions.
Inspecting a ZIP checks the material that was packaged. Playing a course in an LMS checks the learner journey and the information exchanged while it runs. Use both.
If a fault appears LMS-specific, a reference environment such as SCORM Cloud can help narrow the investigation. Check permission before uploading confidential content to another service.
Further reading from Articulate.
- Troubleshooting LMS issues explains how a reference environment can help isolate a problem.
- Reporting completion and success status explains the distinction between finishing and passing.
This checklist supports a practical release review. It is not a SCORM certification test or a substitute for your organisation’s acceptance criteria.
Found a result you cannot explain?
Send the course version, expected result and steps that reproduce the issue. Elearnsy can scope an investigation into launch, completion, scoring or resume.