By Aditi Misra
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has continued to refine its national framework to be consistent with global education and national policies. The CBSE Board is preparing for
the 2026 examination season by creating new reforms to support more critical thinking, emotional resilience and readiness for the “real world”.
Educators, psychologists and industry professionals collaborated widely to create these completely new developments. The goal of the new approach is to change high-stakes testing from being only about passing exams to include being assessed through the lens of multiple dimensions of knowledge.
For students in Class 10 and Class 12, understanding these new ways of learning will give them a foundation for building upon their previous approaches to studying to develop better study habits, so they can ensure that they achieve higher levels of learning and long-term mastery of information.
A New Balance: Moving Beyond 100% Board Exams
The most significant structural change for 2026 is the introduction of a 40:60 evaluation model. Internal assessments, like projects, portfolios, practical work and school-based competency tests, will now carry 40% weightage, while the year-end board examination will contribute the remaining 60%.
By changing this way, it takes away the burden of having one high-pressure piece of work and replaces it with rewarding hard work put into a subject over many different periods/days. In addition, subjects such as Maths and Science will have a large part of their marks based on tasks that involve physical, active learning (such as data analysis, fieldwork and simple algorithmic modelling) that resemble solving problems in real life.
Competency Over Recall: The Heart Of Question Design
CBSE is doubling down on competency-based education in line with the National Education Policy 2020. Board papers will include more than half of the written assessment as application-focused, analytical and/or case-based questions. In addition, many traditional short-answer responses will be replaced with descriptive (open-ended) questions.
In a Social Science course, a student may be required to evaluate a specific historical event from an economic, cultural and ethical point of view, as opposed to simply stating the facts about the event. These types of assignments require students to use their synthesis, reasoning and verbal articulation skills that universities and employers are expecting students to develop throughout their educational career.
Mental Health And Well-Being Built Into The System
Recognising the toll of exam stress, the 2026 guidelines mandate wellness modules within the school curriculum. Schools must have counselling support available during periods of high anxiety associated with exams, as well as flexible submission windows. Schools will implement mandatory breaks in the exam schedule.
By normalising mental health discussions and building support into the structure of the system, CBSE is quietly changing the message from one of “surviving the boards” to one of “growing through learning”.
Vocational Streams Gain Equal Footing
A quiet but revolutionary move is the elevation of vocational and skill-based electives to mainstream status. Subjects such as Artificial Intelligence, Financial Literacy, Design Thinking and Entrepreneurship will carry the same weightage as traditional academic streams.
Assessment in these areas will be 50% practical. Students might design a working budget app, prototype a sustainable product or develop a community-service business plan. This inclusivity dismantles the old hierarchy between “core” and “peripheral” knowledge and prepares every learner for diverse career realities.
What This Means For Students And Parents
Reducing the importance of the final exam by giving it a lower weight allows for creating more time and mental capacity to allow for a more balanced lifestyle in terms of work, play and reflection. Having digital portfolios and a process of continuously receiving feedback will allow students to visualise and take action to improve based on that feedback.
Veteran educators note that students who document their learning journey through journals, peer discussions or project logs develop metacognition and sustained motivation. These habits often prove more valuable in the long run than any single percentage point.
The Larger Vision
At its core, the 2026 framework views education as an interconnected tapestry of academic rigour, personal growth and societal contribution. Institutions that have long championed experiential learning, interdisciplinary projects and character development find natural alignment with these reforms.
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In classrooms that serve as laboratories of curiosity, students are not merely preparing for an exam, but rather for the entirety of their lives. For instance, a science experiment becomes an exercise in hypothesising and iterating, or a debate about history hones students’ abilities to reason ethically.
As these changes take shape, students are encouraged to see assessments as conversations with their evolving selves, teachers as co-learners and knowledge as something to be lived rather than merely memorised.
The true success of the 2026 reforms will not be measured only in pass percentages, but in the quiet confidence of young minds ready to question, create and contribute to the world.
(The author is the Director at Dharav High School, Gurugram. Views expressed are personal and solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.)
