The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has recently announced a major change for CBSE Class 10 board exams from the year 2026. As per the new rule, the students will appear for board exams two times during an academic year.
It is believed that this move has been taken to reduce the “high stakes” aspect and reduce the pressure on the students - providing them an opportunity to perform well and improve their performance without waiting for a whole year.
The new scheme will ensure that every student appearing for the first exam of the Class 10th scheduled for mid-February will have an opportunity to improve their scores during the second exam, which will be scheduled in May.
Notably, this decision has been taken under the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which called for flexible and student-friendly assessments.
Key highlights for CBSE Class 10 Exam 2026
Starting in 2026, the CBSE Class 10 board exams will be held twice a year. Accordingly, the first exam will be held in the month of February, and the second one will be held during the month of May. It is to be noted that the first exam is mandatory, and the second one is optional.
While talking about the results, the Board mentioned that the result for the first exam will be declared in April, and the second one will be released in June - giving the students an opportunity to improve their scores.
However, the internal assessment will be conducted once an academic year and will be applicable for both exam phases.
More chances, less pressure
According to the latest press note released by CBSE on June 25, 2025, the Board has outlined that the second exam will be open for the students who fall under the improvement category, first/third chance compartment cases, and the students combining compartment and improvement subjects.
Along with this, the students involved in the sports - whose events clash with the exam date - will also get a chance to take the exam during the May month. Besides this, students from winter-bound schools and CWSN candidates will be allowed to take the second exam as their main attempt if needed.
The Board has also outlined that it will further introduce future reforms, including changes in modular exams, dual-level papers, and objective-descriptive mixes.
As the CBSE puts it, the change will aim at focusing away from high-stakes testing to constant learning, leaving students with more opportunities to recover or perform better.
Although the new two-exam policy has been approved for students studying in Class 10 by 2026, CBSE has hinted that it may implement the same in Class 12 in the future, although it is yet to be confirmed.
At the moment, the message received is loud, bright, and clear: students will have a chance during two years and, with that, a better chance at succeeding.