In short: Prepare from CBSE’s own material. Every year CBSE publishes a free sample question paper and marking scheme for its board subjects, and its previous years’ papers are online too. About half of the board questions are competency-focused, so practice has to go beyond recall to case-based, source-based and application questions, answered the way the marking scheme gives marks. Internal assessment, run by the school, counts as well. Work through the syllabus steadily, then add timed papers. Nobody can promise a mark, but your child can learn where the marks are.
What the board papers reward
CBSE’s Secondary Curriculum 2026-27 says board papers are designed to assess application, analysis and evaluation. Approximately 50% of the questions are competency-focused: case-based, source-based, integrated, data interpretation, situational and application-oriented. The rest are multiple-choice questions and short and long answers. Papers are set in sections, with internal choices where appropriate.
- Class 10: for the major subjects, an 80-mark board exam plus 20 marks of internal assessment that the school runs. A student must appear in both and needs at least 33% to pass a subject.
- Class 12: marks differ by subject. Physics, for example, is a 70-mark theory paper with 30 marks for practicals, and in CBSE’s 2026-27 design about 38% of the theory marks test remembering and understanding, 32% applying and 30% analysing, evaluating and creating.
Recall still matters, but on its own it is not enough.
Start with CBSE’s own papers
CBSE publishes a sample question paper and a marking scheme for its board subjects on its academic website: see the Class 10 and Class 12 papers for 2026-27. They are free, and they show the design of the paper your child will sit. CBSE also publishes previous years’ question papers on cbse.gov.in, including the 2026 Class 10 second exam papers.
How to use them, in our view:
- Read the general instructions first. The CBSE Class 10 Mathematics Standard sample paper for 2026-27, for example, has 38 compulsory questions in five sections, and calculators are not allowed. The Class 10 Science sample paper has 39 questions in three sections: Biology, Chemistry and Physics.
- Sit the paper to time, in one go, with the book closed.
- Mark it against the marking scheme, not against the answer alone.
- Write down why each mark was lost: a gap in the chapter, a misread question, missing working, or running out of time. The list tells you what to revise next.
Competency-based questions, and how to practise them
A competency-based question gives your child something new to work with, such as a passage, a diagram, a table of data or a real-life situation, and asks them to apply a concept to it. CBSE says the papers use real-life contexts, diagrams and passages to test higher-order thinking. In the 2026-27 Mathematics Standard sample paper, these include two assertion-reason questions and three four-mark case studies.
- Read the whole question before writing. The information needed is usually in the passage or the data.
- Name the concept being tested, then use it on the numbers or the situation given.
- Practise mixed questions, not only one chapter at a time, because some questions draw on more than one topic.
CBSE explains its approach on its competency-based education site, written for teachers.
Marking-scheme technique
The marking scheme shows where the marks sit. In CBSE’s 2026-27 Mathematics Standard marking scheme, one-mark multiple-choice questions carry no part marks: right or wrong. Longer Maths answers are marked step by step, so working matters; our CBSE Class 10 Maths tuition page explains how. In every subject, answers should match what the question asks, laid out so an examiner can follow them. In Class 12 we work on board answer structure and presentation paper by paper.
Internal assessment counts
Internal assessment is part of the result, and in Class 10 it happens once, before the main exam. CBSE’s 2026-27 scheme gives equal weight to four parts:
- Periodic assessment: three in each subject during the year, with the average of the best two counted. At least one must be competency-based.
- Multiple assessment: quizzes, oral presentations, experiments, projects and similar tasks.
- Portfolio: a selection of your child’s work over the year.
- Subject enrichment activities: for example, investigation and data analysis in Science and Maths.
Ask the school how and when each part is assessed, so none of it is a surprise.
A plan for the year
Our view, not CBSE’s:
- Treat Class 9 as practice. The school’s Class 9 annual exam uses the same structure as the Class 10 board exam: 80 marks for major subjects plus 20 for internal assessment.
- Follow the school’s order through the syllabus, so tuition and school point the same way, and keep going back to earlier chapters.
- Check the subjects your child is registered for. Schools register each student’s subjects with CBSE, so confirm the subject names, and in Class 10 which Maths paper, with the school.
- Add timed past papers as the year goes on. In our Class 10 batches, past papers under timed conditions begin in the second term.
- In Class 10, plan for the main exam. The first board exam, from mid-February, is the main one; the rules for the second exam are in our guide to CBSE Class 10’s two board exams.
- Check the dates with CBSE. The date sheet is published on cbse.gov.in, so rely on that rather than last year’s dates.
- In Class 12, plan Class 11 and 12 together. The board paper covers the entire Class 12 syllabus, but CBSE treats the two years as one course.
The 2026-27 rule changes, including Maths and Science at two levels in later years, are in our guide to what changes for CBSE students in 2026-27.
Aiming high, without a promised number
Parents often ask how to score 95. Nobody can honestly promise a number, and we do not. A high score is mostly a matter of losing very few marks: every chapter covered, competency-based questions practised, every step of working shown, papers finished in time and internal assessment taken seriously. CBSE also awards each subject a grade on a 9-point scale. Marking practice papers against CBSE’s marking scheme is the most direct way to see where marks are being lost.
How Progmetics helps
- Class 10: CBSE Class 10 online tuition covers all five board subjects in Regular Online Tuitions, AED 450 a month, excl. 5% VAT, in classes of up to six. Past papers under timed conditions start in the second term, with marking-scheme technique.
- Class 12: CBSE Class 12 online tuition offers a stream bundle of three subjects at AED 950 a month in a group of three or AED 1,250 one-to-one, excl. 5% VAT, or a single subject at AED 550 a month in a group of three or AED 650 one-to-one, excl. 5% VAT.
- Who teaches: board-year batches are taken by board-experienced staff only.
- What you see: live assessment scores from every class, chapter-level reporting and board-exam readiness reviews from Grade 9.
All prices are on our fees page. Classes are live, in 55-minute slots between 2:00 PM and 9:00 PM Gulf Standard Time (GST).
Questions parents ask
When should my child start preparing for the CBSE board exams?
From the start of the board year, and Class 9 is good practice for it: the school’s Class 9 annual exam uses the same 80 marks plus 20 marks of internal assessment for major subjects. Preparation is steady work through the syllabus first, in the order the school teaches it, with timed past papers added as the year goes on. In our Class 10 batches, past papers under timed conditions begin in the second term.
What are competency-based questions in CBSE board papers?
They are questions that test whether your child can apply what they know, not only recall it. CBSE’s 2026-27 curriculum says approximately 50% of board questions are competency-focused, such as case-based, source-based, integrated, data interpretation, situational and application-oriented questions. The rest are multiple-choice questions and short and long answers.
Where can we find CBSE sample papers and marking schemes?
On CBSE’s academic website, cbseacademic.nic.in, which publishes a sample question paper and a marking scheme for its board subjects every year. They are free. CBSE also publishes previous years’ question papers on cbse.gov.in. Start with the current year’s sample paper, because it shows the design of the paper your child will sit.
How can my child score 95 in Class 10 CBSE?
Nobody can honestly promise a number, and we do not. A high score comes from losing very few marks: covering the whole syllabus, practising competency-based questions, writing every step of working, finishing papers in time and taking internal assessment seriously. Marking each practice paper against CBSE’s marking scheme shows exactly where marks are being lost.
Does internal assessment count towards the Class 10 board result?
Yes. For the major subjects, the school runs 20 marks of internal assessment alongside the 80-mark board exam, and a student must appear in both. CBSE’s 2026-27 scheme builds it from periodic assessments, multiple assessment, a portfolio and subject enrichment activities, and at least one periodic assessment must be competency-based.
How is preparing for Class 12 different from Class 10?
Class 12 has one main board examination, with a supplementary examination later in the year for eligible students, and the board paper in each subject covers the entire Class 12 syllabus. Theory marks differ by subject: Physics, for example, is a 70-mark theory paper with 30 marks for practicals. CBSE treats Class 11 and 12 as one course, so preparation starts in Class 11.
How does Progmetics help with board exam preparation?
Board-year batches are taken by board-experienced staff only. In Class 10, past papers under timed conditions start in the second term, with marking-scheme technique. You see live assessment scores from every class. Class 10 Regular Online Tuitions, with all five subjects, is AED 450 a month, excl. 5% VAT. A Class 12 stream bundle is AED 950 a month in a group of three, excl. 5% VAT. We do not promise a mark.
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Written by Progmetics Team. Book a free demo class to see how we work.