DOI:- https://doi.org/10.64880/shikshasamvad.v3i4.17

Author: Nitu

Abstract

CBSE introduced the two-examination system in Class 10 from 2025-26 session in line with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 on offering the board examination system twice a year. The reform consists of a required exam in February/March (Phase 1) and an optional exam for improvement in May (Phase 2), where best of 2 is used for a maximum of 3 subjects. This research critically analyzes the reform from the educational, psychological, administrative, academic and policy perspectives. It aims to measure: academic outcomes, examination stress, learning outcomes and to explain, perceptions and challenges of stakeholders. The mixed method of descriptive and analytical was used, based on secondary data analysis from CBSE notifications, Ministry of Education documents, government reports, and peer-reviewed studies, analysed by content analysis, comparative analysis and percentage analysis. Results show that there are some general acceptances and a slight increase in pass. However, ongoing concerns about fees, scheduling, delayed documents and coaching dependency. The study findings suggest that the reform partially fulfills its goals of making students the main protagonists of learning and that there is a need to refine the administration of the reform in order to achieve its sustainability.

Keywords: CBSE Class 10; two-exam system; NEP 2020; examination stress; best-of-two scoring

Cite this Article: 

Nitu,“A Critical Study on the CBSE’s Two-Exam System for Class 10” Shiksha Samvad International Open Access Peer-Reviewed & Refereed Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, ISSN: 2584-0983 (Online), Volume 03, Issue 04, Pp.138-146, June-2026. Journal URL: https://shikshasamvad.com/