CBSE to State Boards: Two Board Exams, New Policies — How 2025 Reshaped Class 10 and 12 Exams Across India
For decades, board examinations in India followed a rigid, high-pressure formula: one timetable, one question paper, and one decisive attempt. A bad day caused by illness, anxiety, or personal circumstances could permanently alter a student’s academic and career trajectory. As 2025 comes to a close, that long-standing model is being fundamentally rewritten.
Rather than abrupt disruptions like those seen during the pandemic, this year marked a structural transformation in school assessments. Across central and state boards, India has begun dismantling the once-a-year, high-stakes board exam system and replacing it with flexible, multi-attempt frameworks inspired by the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The result is a quieter but far more enduring reform—one that reframes board exams as a process rather than a single do-or-die event.
The End of the One-Shot Board Exam
The traditional board exam model placed enormous weight on a single performance. Students had no margin for error, and supplementary exams often carried stigma. NEP 2020 directly challenged this structure, arguing that assessment should reduce stress, test core competencies instead of rote learning, and offer students more than one opportunity to demonstrate learning.
The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) operationalised this vision by recommending that Class 10 and 12 board exams be conducted at least twice a year, with students allowed to retain their best score. By the end of 2025, this idea moved decisively from policy language to implementation plans across India.
CBSE Sets the National Template
As the country’s largest national board, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) played a pivotal role in translating NEP intent into a workable model.
From the 2025–26 academic year, CBSE will conduct Class 10 board examinations twice annually. The first phase, scheduled around February, will be mandatory for all students. The second phase, held in May, will be optional and designed specifically for improvement or recovery.
Results from the first phase will be declared in April, while the second phase results will follow in June. Crucially, the final marksheet will reflect the best score achieved across the two attempts, effectively ending the concept of a single final exam.
CBSE has clarified that the second exam is not compulsory and should not be treated as a default expectation. The syllabus, exam pattern, and evaluation criteria will remain identical in both phases, ensuring fairness and consistency. While the initial rollout applies to Class 10, the same framework is widely expected to extend to Class 12 in future cycles.
State Boards Align with NEP 2020
Several state boards used 2025 to formally align themselves with the NEP’s flexible assessment vision.
Madhya Pradesh adopted a twice-a-year exam model for both Class 10 and Class 12, allowing students two exam windows within the same academic year. The better of the two performances is retained, effectively merging regular and improvement exams into one structure.
Gujarat, through the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSEB), approved two annual board exams for secondary and higher secondary students. Officials have confirmed that both exams will follow the same syllabus and format, with the second clearly positioned as an improvement opportunity.
Haryana announced a similar approach, explicitly framing the second exam as a pressure-relief mechanism rather than a mandatory retest.
Rajasthan has declared plans to implement a CBSE-style model from the 2026–27 academic year, conducting Class 10 and 12 exams twice annually with best-of-two marksheets.
These changes build on earlier reforms in some states. West Bengal, for example, had already introduced a semester-based structure for Class 12, splitting assessments across two phases and reducing the weight of a single final test.
Chhattisgarh’s Early Adoption
Chhattisgarh implemented the two-board exam pattern for the 2025 examination cycle itself. The first exam was conducted in March, followed by a second attempt in June–July. This structure allowed students to improve their scores or secure a pass certificate without waiting an entire academic year, addressing a long-standing concern around delayed progression.
Karnataka’s Three-Exam Model: The Boldest Experiment
Karnataka has gone further than any other state in reimagining board assessments. Beginning in the 2023–24 academic year, the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board introduced up to three exam opportunities annually.
Students may appear in one, two, or all three exam windows, with the best score retained for the final marksheet. This model completely removes the distinction between “regular” and “supplementary” exams, integrating all attempts into a single, continuous assessment framework.
Education officials describe this as a shift from a failure-centric to an opportunity-centric system. Students satisfied with their performance can opt out of later exams, while others can keep improving without the stigma historically associated with supplementary attempts.
Why Multiple Board Exams Now?
The rationale behind multiple board exams extends beyond scheduling convenience. Policymakers frame the reform as a combined mental health intervention, equity measure, and academic correction.
Multiple attempts reduce exam-related anxiety, accommodate unforeseen disruptions, and recognise that a single day’s performance is an imperfect indicator of learning. NEP 2020 explicitly argued that board exams should test conceptual understanding and competencies, not memory alone, and should give students adequate chances to perform at their best.
For higher education institutions, the change may also broaden the pool of eligible candidates meeting cut-offs, particularly in competitive streams where even a marginal improvement in board marks can significantly affect admissions.
What Made 2025 Different
Unlike earlier years marked by sudden reforms or emergency decisions, 2025 was about institutionalisation. Boards finalised timelines, issued operational circulars, clarified that second exams are optional, and confirmed uniform syllabi and evaluation standards across attempts.
In many cases, supplementary exams are being phased out or absorbed into the new multi-exam framework. Schools have begun adjusting guidance accordingly, encouraging students to treat the first board exam as their primary attempt and view the second as a safety net rather than an expectation.
Tamil Nadu Takes a Different Path
Amid the nationwide move towards more board exams in Classes 10 and 12, Tamil Nadu charted a contrasting course at the Class 11 level.
In October 2025, the state government abolished the Plus One public examination from the 2025–26 academic year, restoring the pre-2017 system of internal school-based assessment. Integrated Class 11–12 mark certificates will be discontinued, and only Class 12 marks will appear on official board marksheets.
The Directorate of Government Examinations will continue conducting Class 11 public exams until March 2030 only for repeaters, gradually phasing out the exam. Teachers’ associations had long argued that the Class 11 board exam increased pressure without improving learning outcomes, and the government’s decision reflects a belief that fewer external checkpoints can sometimes better serve students.
Conclusion: A New Philosophy of Assessment
Taken together, the reforms rolled out or confirmed in 2025 signal a fundamental reset in how India approaches school examinations. Board exams are no longer being positioned as a single verdict on a student’s future, but as a flexible system offering choice, recovery, and improvement. From CBSE’s two-exam model to Karnataka’s three-attempt framework and Tamil Nadu’s decision to reduce external exams, the message is clear: assessment in India is shifting from punishment to possibility.
