CBSE · Class 12
CBSE Class 12 in 2026–27 Boards and entrance exams in one year
Class 12 finishes the two-year senior course with CBSE's 2027 main exams. There is one board sitting, the paper design is unchanged, and many students prepare for entrance tests at the same time.
Class 12 is the second board year, and for many students it is also an entrance-exam year. The subjects are the ones chosen in Class 11, since the two years are one course. CBSE's 2027 main exams for Class 12 are in its list of candidates for the coming session, and unlike Class 10 there is no second board exam: one sitting decides the result. CBSE says the question paper design and assessment pattern are unchanged this session, with 50% of each paper given to competency-focused questions. The challenge is balance: revising a full two-year syllabus for the board while practising for entrance tests, without losing sleep or understanding.
At a glance
- Board exam this year?
- Yes. CBSE's main Class 12 exams of 2027; there is no second board exam for Class 12.
- Official documents
- CBSE Senior Secondary Curriculum 2026–27, Part 2
- Date sheet
- Not yet published by CBSE (checked 2 October 2026)
Checked on 2 October 2026 against CBSE's and NCERT's own documents.
What's new in 2026–27
Class 12 is a year of continuity. These are the official points worth knowing.
CBSE says there is no change in the question paper design and assessment pattern for 2026–27, and the passing criteria stay the same.
In Classes 11 and 12, 50% of a paper is competency-focused questions, 20% multiple-choice and 30% short or long answers.
The Class 12 main examinations of 2027 are part of CBSE's list-of-candidates process now under way. The two-exam policy applies to Class 10 only.
NCERT's advisory names new books for Grades 9, 10 and 11; it announces no new Class 12 books for 2026–27.
Subjects this year
Class 12 continues the subjects chosen in Class 11. These are grouped for reading; your school offers its own selection.
Languages
English Core or Elective, Hindi Core or Elective, Sanskrit and others. English or Hindi must be one of the two languages.
Physics
Electrostatics, current, magnetism, optics and modern physics, with practical work.
Chemistry
Solutions, electrochemistry, kinetics, the d- and f-block, and organic chemistry.
Biology and Biotechnology
Reproduction, genetics, evolution, ecology and biotechnology in practice.
Mathematics or Applied Mathematics
Calculus, matrices, vectors and probability, continuing the Class 11 choice.
Computer Science or Informatics Practices
Programming and working with data. Only one of these, or Information Technology, may be chosen.
Accountancy, Business Studies and Entrepreneurship
Recording money, running organisations and starting ventures.
Economics
How people, firms and governments make choices, with statistics.
History, Political Science and Geography
The past, how power works, and the physical and human world.
Sociology, Psychology and Legal Studies
Society, the mind and the law.
Home Science, Physical Education and Knowledge Tradition and Practices of India
Applied, health and cultural subjects.
Fine Arts, Music, Dance, NCC and Engineering Graphics
Creative, performing and technical options, depending on what the school offers.
What the questions will ask
Physics, Classes 11–12. CBSE's paper design sorts the 70 theory marks of the Physics board paper by kind of thinking, with 30 more marks for practicals. CBSE notes that the template is only a sample. Nearly two-thirds of the theory marks go to applying, analysing, evaluating and creating.
- Remembering and Understanding38%
- Applying32%
- Analysing, Evaluating and Creating30%
Source: CBSE Physics, Classes 11–12, 2026–27: Question Paper Design
One topic, six kinds of question
Topic: current electricity, from NCERT Physics Part I (Class 12), Chapter 3, "Current Electricity". The questions are our own. Below the first step is "not yet", where a person steps in.
Remember
State Ohm's law.
Understand
Explain why a long, thin wire has more resistance than a short, thick wire of the same metal.
Apply
A 12 V battery drives a current through a 4 Ω and a 2 Ω resistor in series. Find the current and the voltage across each resistor.
Analyse
A 60 W bulb and a 100 W bulb, both rated for 220 V, are joined in series across 220 V. Which glows brighter, and why?
Evaluate
A classmate says Ohm's law holds for every conductor at every temperature. Judge the claim, using what you know about how resistance changes.
Create
Using only 2 Ω resistors, design a combination with a total resistance of 3 Ω, and draw the circuit.
Ideas this year rests on
Class 12 is the second half of one course. These Class 11 ideas come back in board and entrance questions alike.
- Vectors and the laws of motion from Class 11 Physics, used in electric and magnetic forces.
- Limits and derivatives from Class 11 Mathematics, which Class 12 calculus is built on.
- Chemical bonding and equilibrium from Class 11 Chemistry, needed for electrochemistry and kinetics.
- Work, energy and power from Class 11, which return in circuits and in modern physics.
How SelfEnabler practises this
With a two-year syllabus to revise, Class 12 students need to know where to spend time. Each SelfEnabler lesson ends with a short check and a reflection, and the notes that follow cover only what your child missed, at the kind of question where they got stuck.
Your parent view keeps a "Needs a person" list and a "Going well" list, and shows study coverage subject by subject. That makes it easier to agree on a revision plan that leaves room for entrance practice, rather than re-reading every chapter.
See how a lesson works
For parents: what to watch this year
Entrance practice crowds out the board
Sign: board subjects without an entrance exam are left to the last month. Action: keep a fixed weekly slot for each board subject from now on.
Speed without reasons
Sign: quick multiple-choice answers but weak long answers. Action: ask for one written explanation a day; board papers still carry long answers.
Hoping for a second chance
Sign: "I can improve later, like Class 10." Action: be clear together that Class 12 has one main board sitting in 2027.
Questions parents ask about Class 12
Is there any change in the Class 12 syllabus for 2026–27?
CBSE published the 2026–27 curriculum on 1 April 2026, and its Notification 132/2026 says the question paper design and assessment pattern are unchanged this session.
Are there two board exams for Class 12?
No. CBSE's two-exam policy is for Class 10. Class 12 has its main examinations in 2027.
When are the 2027 Class 12 board exams?
CBSE had not published the 2027 date sheet on 2 October 2026. We will add the dates when it does.
How much of the paper tests application?
CBSE's design for Classes 11 and 12 gives 50% to competency-focused questions. In Physics, its sample design gives 62% of theory marks to applying, analysing, evaluating and creating.
Will NCERT books change for Class 12 in 2026–27?
NCERT's advisory of 17 March 2026 announces new books for Grades 9, 10 and 11, not Class 12. Use the current Class 12 books from ncert.nic.in.
More from CBSE
Balance the board and the entrance exams
Book a free demo and see how a lesson shows exactly which Class 12 topics need more time.