Competency-based questions in CBSE exams: 2026–27 guide

What 'competency-based' means

CBSE describes competency-based education as an approach that 'focuses on the student's demonstration of learning outcomes and attaining proficiency in particular competencies in each subject'. In plain words: can your child use the idea in a situation they have not seen before?

Here is the difference, in a pair of our own Class 10 Science questions. A recall question: 'What is the commercial unit of electrical energy?' A competency question: 'A family's electricity bill lists these appliances and the hours each runs in a day. Which one change would cut the bill the most, and why?' Both come from the same chapter, but the second asks the child to read data, calculate and justify a choice.

Competency questions can be multiple choice, short answers or long answers. What makes them competency-based is not the format but the thinking. Many give a case, a passage, a table or a diagram first, then ask several questions about it.

How the thinking levels show up in the marks

Each subject's 2026–27 syllabus also says how its marks are spread across levels of thinking, often in the words of Bloom's Taxonomy. In Class X Science, 50% of the theory marks are for knowledge and understanding, 30% for applying and 20% for analysing, evaluating and creating.

Social Science leans further up the ladder. In the Class X design, 40 of the 80 theory marks are for analysing, evaluating and creating, 24 for remembering and understanding, 11 for applying and 5 for map work. A child who learns only lists and dates is preparing for less than a third of that paper.

Two board exams for Class 10 in 2027

Class 10 now has two board examinations in a year. In the first year of the scheme, the main exam ran from 17 February to 11 March 2026 and the second from 15 to 21 May 2026. CBSE says 'the better of the two performances is considered for preparing the final result.'

The same rules apply to the Board Examinations 2027. The first examination, in February–March, is mandatory for every Class 10 student. Students who pass and are eligible may then take the second examination to improve their performance in up to three subjects out of Science, Mathematics, Social Science and languages. Both examinations cover the full syllabus. Internal assessment happens only once, before the main examination. A student who does not appear in three or more subjects in the first exam cannot take the second, and registration for the second opens only after the first is over.

The second exam is a safety net, not a plan. Prepare for the first one as if it were the only one. The exact 2027 dates will be in CBSE's date sheet when it is published.

Other changes in 2026–27

From 2026–27, Class IX students can take optional Advanced papers in Mathematics and Science: 25 marks, one hour, 'all HOTS questions', on top of the standard paper. These marks are not added to the aggregate. For this batch, the two-level Mathematics Basic and Standard scheme is being discontinued.

Students in Class X in 2026–27 are not affected by that change: they continue under the existing scheme and may still opt for Mathematics Basic.

How to prepare without adding hours

More hours of the same revision will not help much. A different kind of practice will. After learning a topic, your child should answer questions that ask 'why', 'what if' and 'which is better', and explain the reasoning aloud or in writing.

Use the official material first. CBSE's 2026–27 sample papers and marking schemes show the question types and how answers are marked, and CBSE's competency-based education site has more practice material. When your child gets a case-based question wrong, ask which part tripped them: reading the case, finding the concept, or explaining the answer. Each needs a different fix.

If your child is in Class 9 or 11, this is a good time to start. These habits take a few months to form, and they make every later chapter easier too. If your child is in an ICSE or ISC school, CISCE's own specimen papers are the place to check its pattern; this guide covers CBSE only.