CBSE New Exam Pattern for Class 10

The Central Board of Secondary Education conducts the class 10 board exams for all the affiliated schools. Students who have to appear for the upcoming class 10 board exam must be thorough with the exam pattern. CBSE changes the exam pattern as per the latest syllabus and students needs. In 2008, the board has introduced the CCE model of assessment. This CCE pattern continued till 2017 and again in 2018 new exam pattern has been introduced. So, it’s important for the students to stay updated with the latest class 10 exam pattern. Here we have provided the complete details on CBSE Exam Pattern for Class 10.

CBSE New Exam Pattern for Class 10

In the new CBSE paper pattern for class 10, a single annual exam will be conducted. Now, the class 10 board exam will be of 80 marks and the remaining 20 marks will comprise of internal assessments by the respective schools. This change in the exam pattern has been introduced in the year 2019 and is continuously followed from then.

CBSE has introduced certain changes in the exam pattern. Here we have listed the changes in CBSE new pattern for class 10:

1. CBSE has introduced 2 levels of Math exam i.e Mathematics Basic and Mathematics Standard for class 10 students. Students have to choose between these 2 levels of exam. The basic level is for those students who are not keen to pursue Mathematics at higher levels and exam for it will be of easier as compared to the standard level. Whereas the Standard level of exam is for those students who want to opt maths in the Sr. Secondary level.
2. More number of MCQ questions will be asked in class 10 board exam 2020. The level of these MCQs are expected to be tougher in exam.
3. CBSE board will provide more internal choices in the question paper. The internal options in all sections have been increased by 33%.

The CBSE class 10 exam 2021 is to be conducted as per the revised CBSE syllabus 2020-21. So students are advised to prepare for the exam as per the syllabus provided by the board. Moreover, it has made available the sample papers as per the latest exam pattern. So, students are recommended to solve the CBSE Class 10 Sample Papers while preparing for the exam. Doing so will help them in understanding the exam pattern and detailed mark distribution of each subject.

CBSE Class 10 Board Exam Pattern and Other Details

Generally, the CBSE board exam for class 10 comprises of 5 main subjects which include:

1) Language 1
2) Language 2
3) Mathematics
4) Science
5) Social Science

There are two optional subjects as mentioned below:

6) Skill subject
7) Language III /Any Academic subject other than opted above

The subjects of Internal Assessment is as below:

8) Art Education
9) Health & Physical Education

The students interested to learn any foreign languages or any other additional subject can opt for the same as an additional subject.

Passing Percentage for Class 10 board exam

All the board exam papers (including the additional subject) will have a total of 80 marks each and a student has to score at least 33% marks to pass the respective papers.

What If a Student Fails?

• If a student fails in any one of the three compulsory academic subjects (i.e. Science, Mathematics and Social Science) and passes in the Skill subject (offered as sixth optional subject), then that academic subject will be replaced by the Skill subject and the result of Class 10 board examination will be computed accordingly.
• If a student fails in any language subject, out of first five main subjects, the same will be replaced by the language taken as sixth subject (in case of no skills subjects offered) or as seventh subject (optional), provided he or she has passed this language subject and after replacement either Hindi or English remains as a passed language in the first five subjects.

Exam Details

The question in the paper will be only from CBSE class 10 syllabus and CBSE will provide the marks and grades of the individual subjects in the grade card. The exam will be conducted for 3 hours and the MCQ based questions will also be included. The detailed marking scheme can be checked from the CBSE class 10 marking scheme page.

Marking Details

In MCQ questions, only one correct option will be provided corresponding to a question. It is important to note that the students should present their answers according to the marks. For example, for a 2 marks question, 30 words are ideal whereas, for a 5 marks question, 70 words should be used.

Grade Allocation for Class 10 Board Exam

Grades corresponding to the marks shall be on the basis of 9-point grading system. The board will put all the passed students in a rank order and will award the grades as follows:

* CBSE has decided to do away with the word “Fail”. The word/ phrase to be used instead shall be informed shortly.

CBSE Class 10 Internal Assessment Details

The internal assessment will comprise of 20 marks. It consists of 3 divisions which include the following points.

1) Periodic Assessment

The periodic assessment is done at regular intervals and it provides feedback of students performance. It helps students to know their strength and weaknesses and thus enable them for better learning. The Periodic Assessment is further divided into:

i) Periodic Test (05 Marks): Total 3 periodic test will be conducted for each subject. Out of which the average of 2 will be taken for final submission. The weightage of this will be 5 marks.

ii) Multiple Assesment (05 Marks): The schools have given the authority to use other modes of assessment depending upon the demand of the subject. This can consist of oral tests, individual or group work, class discussion, field-work, concept maps, graphic organizers, visual representation etc. The weightage of this will be 5 marks.

2) Portfolio

A portfolio represents the student’s work and describes the efforts, progress, growth, achievement in key areas of learning. Some of the elements through which portfolio can be assessed are:

• Representation of the work: This includes neatness and visual appeal
• Completion of guided work focused on specific curricular objectives
• Student’s growth
• Inclusion of all relevant work (Completeness)

This will consist of a weightage of 5 marks.

3) Subject Enrichment Activities

This comprises of another 5 marks and assesses the practical, project works and language skills of a student. The subject enrichment activity is different for different subjects. For example, for language subject, the listening, speaking skills, vocabulary will be assessed whereas for Maths and Science the practical works will be examined. For a subject like Social Science, some relevant project work will be evaluated.

We hope students must have found this page on “CBSE Exam Pattern for Class 10” useful in exam preparation. Stay tuned for further updates on CBSE pattern. To get interactive Maths and Science videos subscribe to the BYJU’S YouTube channel.