CBSE Class 10 Two Board Exams: How the February and May Exams Work
From 2026, CBSE Class 10 students sit two board exams in the same year instead of one. It is the biggest change to the Class 10 boards in a decade, and it is also one of the most misunderstood. The second exam is not a second chance at everything, it is not compulsory, and it does not replace the first.
This guide explains how the system works, who can take the second exam, and how to plan your year around it. CBSE publishes the exact rules and dates in its circulars, so always confirm details for your own case on cbse.gov.in.
The short version
- The first exam (February to March) is compulsory for every Class 10 student. It is the main board exam. In 2026 it began on 17 February.
- The second exam (May) is optional. It is for students who want to improve their marks, and it also serves as the compartment (supplementary) exam.
- You can improve up to three subjects in the second exam, chosen from Science, Mathematics, Social Science and the languages.
- The better score counts. CBSE keeps the higher of your two marks for each subject and prints that on the final marksheet.
- Results come twice: the first exam's results in April, the second exam's results around the end of June.
Who can take the May exam
The May exam is for students who appeared in the February exam. Students who did not appear in three or more subjects in February were placed in the "Essential Repeat" category in 2026 and could not take the May exam; they sit the next year's main exam instead. If you plan to use the May exam, the first rule is simple: sit every paper in February.
The improvement attempt is limited to the main subjects listed above. You take the same subjects you took in February. The one change CBSE allows between the two exams is between Mathematics Standard and Mathematics Basic, and the conditions for that switch are set out in CBSE's circular for the year, so check it before you plan around it.
What this means for 2027
For students in Class 10 now, the main exam is expected in February to March 2027 and the second exam in May 2027. CBSE usually releases the date sheet in the autumn before the exam, so watch for the 2027 date sheet over the next few weeks.
How to plan your year
Treat February as the real exam. The best-of-two rule is a safety net, not a strategy. Most students who take the May exam use it to lift one or two subjects that went badly, and the May exam comes only weeks after the February results, with little time to learn anything new. Preparation you do not finish by February will not suddenly get done in April.
Finish the syllabus by December. January is for revision and full papers. The students who do well in February are almost always the ones who stopped learning new chapters early and spent the last six weeks practising.
Use previous year papers, including both 2026 exams. The 2026 papers are the first written under the two-exam system, and the May paper is a good guide to what an improvement attempt looks like. Kedovo has the full papers by year, with worked answers, for Class 10 Science, Class 10 Maths and Class 10 Social Science, and where CBSE has set questions on a chapter, that chapter's page lists them.
Know your weak subjects by the pre-boards. If a subject is still shaky after your school's pre-board exams, that is the subject to think about for May. Decide after you see your February results, not before.
Practise the competency-based formats. A large share of Class 10 papers is now multiple choice, assertion and reason, and case-based questions. These reward understanding over memory, and they are the questions students lose easy marks on when they have not practised the format. Our guides to assertion and reason and case study questions explain how each one is marked.
A simple timeline for Class 10
- October to December: finish every chapter. For each one: read the notes, solve every NCERT question, then practise MCQs, assertion and reason and case study questions.
- January: revision and full previous year papers under timed conditions.
- February to March: the main board exam.
- April: first results. Decide whether to take the May exam, and in which subjects.
- May: the optional second exam, only for the subjects you chose.
- June: second results; your final marksheet carries the better score in each subject.
Everything for Class 10 in one place
Every Class 10 chapter on Kedovo has notes (except Maths), step-by-step NCERT solutions, flashcards, extra questions, MCQs, assertion and reason and case study questions, and, where CBSE has asked about it, the previous year board questions, with an AI tutor for doubts at any hour. Start from the Class 10 page, or go straight to Class 10 Science, Class 10 Maths or Class 10 Social Science.