From 2026, there will be a big change in the CBSE Class 10 board exams, under which students will be able to appear for the board exams twice in an academic year. The aim is to reduce exam pressure, reduce stress, and give students a chance to improve their performance without waiting for the whole year. According to the new plan, all students will have to appear for the first exam, which will be held in mid-February. At the same time, students who need to improve their marks or who fail in a maximum of three subjects will be able to take the second exam in May.
This decision has been taken based on the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which talks about flexible and student-centric assessment.
CBSE Class 10 Board Exam 2026
Class 10 board exams will be held twice a year, first in February and second in May. The first exam will be compulsory while the second is optional.
The results of the first exam will be released in April, and the results of the second exam in June, allowing students to improve.
Internal assessment will be done only once in the entire academic year, which will apply to both exams.
In a press note issued on 25 June 2025, CBSE informed that under the new policy, new students, compartment cases, re-attempting students, and students appearing for improvement will be able to appear in the first exam.
The second exam will be available only to improvement category, first/third chance compartment cases and students with both compartment and improvement subjects. Special provisions have also been made for certain special groups.
Sports participants whose competitions are at the time of examination, students of schools in winter areas, and CWSN (Divyang) students will be able to take the second exam as their main exam if required.
Internal assessment will be done only once before the first board exam.
The board has also hinted at more reforms in the future, such as modular exams, two-tier question papers and a combination of objective and descriptive questions, which may soon become part of the regular examination system.
CBSE says the change will shift the focus from the high pressure of exams to continuous learning, giving students more opportunities to perform better or improve.
While the new two-first exam policy will be applicable for Class 10 from 2026, the board has indicated that a similar arrangement may be considered for Class 12 in the future, though there has been no official announcement yet.
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