CBSE Board Exam Changes: CBSE has made six changes for students for the 2025-26 academic year that will directly affect students in grades 10 and 12. Students should be aware of these changes before the exams begin.CBSE
Board Exam Changes: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced several changes to the Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations for the academic year 2025-26. These changes are mandatory for both classes. This year, more than 45 lakh students will appear for the Class 10 and Class 12 exams conducted by the CBSE board. The examinations for both classes will begin on February 17, 2026.
The 6 biggest changes that took place in the 2025 exams.
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The number of competency-based questions has increased.
Now, the exams will have fewer direct questions and more competency-based questions. In both Class 10 and Class 12, 50% of the questions will be based on students’ understanding of concepts and their application in real life. These will include case studies, assertion-reasoning questions, and source-based questions.
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Say goodbye to rote learning!
CBSE is now reducing the weightage of long answer questions. The board wants students to understand the answers and write them in their own words, rather than memorizing them.
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Open Book Exam Trial
The board has proposed an ‘open book exam’ for some selected subjects. In this system, students will be allowed to use their textbooks for difficult subjects (such as Mathematics and English). The objective is to test the students’ analytical abilities.
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Two Opportunities to Take the Exam
Under the National Education Policy 2020, students will now have the option to take board exams twice a year. If a student is not satisfied with their scores in the first exam, they can appear for the second exam (around May-June), and the higher score will be considered for the final result.
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Digital Answer Sheet Checking (Digital Evaluation)
The board is now emphasizing the ‘digital evaluation’ system to enhance the security and transparency of answer sheets. This will speed up the release of results and reduce the possibility of human errors.
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15% reduction in syllabus
To reduce the academic burden on students, the board has reduced the syllabus of some subjects by approximately 15%. This will give students more time to focus in-depth on important topics.