CBSE Class 10 Syllabus 2026-27: Subject-wise Marks

If you are in Class 10 this session, this guide gives you the unit-wise board exam marks and the internal assessment split for Mathematics, Science, Social Science, English, Hindi A and Hindi B. It also points out the chapters and topics that CBSE has kept out of the board paper, so you and your parents know exactly where the marks are.

Everything here comes from CBSE's Secondary Curriculum 2026-27 and the Class 10 subject syllabi for 2026-27. The curriculum also covers Class 9, which has several new changes this year, so we have used only the Class 10 rules.

The big picture for Class 10 in 2026-27

Class 10 students stay on the existing scheme this year. Five subjects are compulsory with a board exam and school-based internal assessment: Language 1, Language 2, Mathematics (Basic or Standard), Science and Social Science. A skill subject and a third language are optional, and you can take at most seven subjects in the 2027 board exam (five compulsory, two optional).

Each subject below has an 80-mark board paper of 3 hours and 20 marks of internal assessment, making 100. You must appear in both parts, and the pass mark is 33%.

The new optional Mathematics Advanced and Science Advanced papers begin in Class 10 only from 2027-28, so they are not part of your exam.

Mathematics (Standard and Basic)

CBSE is ending the Basic/Standard split from 2026-27, but this year's Class 10 students continue on the existing scheme and may still choose Mathematics Basic. Both papers share one course structure:

The difference is in the question mix. In Standard, about 43 marks test remembering and understanding, 19 test applying and 18 test analysing, evaluating and creating. In Basic, the split is about 60, 12 and 8.

Internal assessment (20): pen-paper test and multiple assessment (5 + 5), portfolio (5) and lab practical from the prescribed books (5).

Revise each chapter with our free Class 10 Maths notes and mind maps.

Science

The syllabus says these topics are taught but assessed only formatively, not in the board paper:

• Periodic Classification of Elements
• Evolution (acquired and inherited traits, speciation, evolution and classification, tracing evolutionary relationships, fossils, evolution by stages, human evolution)
• Motor, Electromagnetic Induction and Electric Generator

Information in the boxes of the NCERT textbook is also not assessed in the year-end exam. A note for teachers at the end of the same syllabus words this more broadly (it names "Heredity and Evolution" and "Electric Effects of Electric Current"), but the unit list keeps Heredity and the rest of electricity in Units II and IV, and the 2026-27 sample paper has questions on Mendel's crosses and on electric current. So keep Heredity and electricity in your board revision. See our Class 10 sample paper guide for how the paper is built. You may be asked to write about the formative topics in your portfolio instead.

Internal assessment (20): periodic assessment (5), multiple assessment (5), portfolio (5) and practical work as subject enrichment (5). The syllabus lists 14 experiments to do alongside theory.

Start with our Class 10 Science chapter notes, then read our guides to the Science paper pattern and the Science topics not in the board exam.

Social Science

A few chapters are handled differently:

• The Making of a Global World: only subtopics 1 to 1.3 (the pre-modern world) come in the board exam. Subtopics 2 to 4.4 are covered through an interdisciplinary project, internally assessed for 5 marks.
• The Age of Industrialisation: assessed only in periodic assessment.
• Lifelines of National Economy: only map pointing is tested in the board exam.
• Globalisation and the Indian Economy: only "What is Globalisation?" and "Factors that have enabled Globalisation" come in the board exam. The rest is part of the interdisciplinary project.
• Consumer Rights: project work.

Internal assessment (20): pen-paper periodic test (5), multiple assessment through the interdisciplinary project (5), a subject enrichment project on Consumer Rights, Social Issues or Sustainable Development (5) and portfolio (5).

Revise chapter by chapter with our Class 10 Social Science notes and mind maps.

English (Language and Literature)

Literature questions come from First Flight and Footprints Without Feet. From the workbook Words and Expressions II, Units 1 to 4 and 7 to 11 are prescribed.

Internal assessment (20): listening and speaking skills carry 5 marks as part of subject enrichment, assessed on interaction, fluency, pronunciation, and grammar and vocabulary. For the rest of the 20 marks, the syllabus refers to an earlier CBSE circular.

Revise the prose and poems with our Class 10 English notes.

Hindi Course A (002)

No questions will be asked from these lessons:

• क्षितिज: देव (सवैया, कवित्त), गिरिजाकुमार माथुर (छाया मत छूना), ऋतुराज (कन्यादान), महावीरप्रसाद द्विवेदी (स्त्री-शिक्षा के विरोधी कुतर्कों का खंडन), सर्वेश्वर दयाल सक्सेना (मानवीय करुणा की दिव्य चमक)
• कृतिका: एही ठैयाँ झुलनी हेरानी हो रामा!, जार्ज पंचम की नाक

Hindi Course B (085)

No questions will be asked from these स्पर्श lessons: बिहारी (दोहे), महादेवी वर्मा (मधुर-मधुर मेरे दीपक जल) and अंतोन चेखव (गिरगिट). The syllabus says no lesson has been removed from संचयन.

Internal assessment for both courses (20): periodic assessment (5), multiple assessment (5), portfolio (5) and listening and speaking (5).

Find chapter summaries and mind maps in our Class 10 Hindi notes.

How the board paper is marked

About half of the board questions are competency-focused, such as case-based, source-based and data-based questions. The rest are MCQs, short answers and long answers. Class 10 uses a 9-point grading system based on rank among passed students: A-1 for the top one-eighth, then A-2, B-1, B-2, C-1, C-2, D-1 and D-2, with E meaning "essential repeat".

How to plan the year

• Start with the heavy units. Algebra in Maths and Units I and II in Science carry the most marks, so begin them early and revise them often.
• Keep internal work steady. Put tests, projects, practicals and portfolio pieces on your calendar so they never pile up.
• Practise after every chapter. A short set of questions in our practice section shows what has stuck.
• Use a weekly rhythm. Two or three subjects a day is plenty. Leave one evening free for catching up.
• Rest well. Short breaks between study blocks and a full night's sleep help you remember more than late nights do.

Next step: Create a free Learnijoy account to build a study planner around these units and track your progress chapter by chapter.

Last updated: 9 October 2026. Source: CBSE Secondary Curriculum 2026-27 and subject syllabi (Maths, Science, Social Science, English, Hindi A, Hindi B).