Have you heard of the CBSE marking scheme that may assist you in knowing about your marking system?
The CBSE marking scheme is divided into two sets of numbers and directions concerning how the marks are given on any topic and subject. This is the CBSE grading system , which was introduced to determine the weightage of subjects and the number of marks that should be allocated to the topics.
The CBSE marking scheme helps students prepare for exams with less stress, as they will know the correct marking scheme. The CBSE marking scheme assigns marks to different questions and parts of questions, both theory and internal assessments .
The CBSE marking scheme knowledge would help students such that they could be in a position to plan their studies, since they would be able to focus on the matters of weightage, the manner in which the exam would be conducted and the way that they would present the answer in order to be awarded the most marks.
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What is the CBSE Marking Scheme?
The CBSE marking scheme is an official guideline provided by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) that prescribes how the answers of the students are to be rated in Class 10 and Class 12 board examinations.
It makes the assessment system equitable, transparent and equivalent at all the exam centres. The marking scheme will contain the distribution of the marks per question, as well as the distribution of marks per-sub part.
The marking scheme of every subject is structured according to the question paper structure, containing the question type, weight and the mark per chapter or unit that is supposed to be allocated.
The marking scheme of the CBSE has some features:
The main characteristics of the CBSE marking scheme contain a combination of theory and practical marks, where the theoretical marks normally comprise 70-80% and the practical marks comprise 20-30% of the total marks.
- Guideline-Based Assessment: CBSE possesses a sequence of rigorous evaluations of guidelines to ensure that it is equitable and stable. The examiners are taught these policies to enable them to award marks to the students in phases to ensure that no single student is graded based on different standards
- Breakdown of Marks: The marking scheme will give an optimal distribution of the marks per question or part of a question. This contributes to easy evaluation, and it is not really hard to assess the contribution of each constituent of the answer to the overall marks.
- Easy to use: The CBSE marking scheme is also easy to read and understand; therefore, it is easy to use among teachers in terms of checking the papers. It also allows the students to study the syllabus and curriculum.
- Re-evaluation: CBSE provides the students with a re-evaluation or a re-check of the results in case the students are not satisfied with the results. This makes it open and instils confidence in the students.
How to Check CBSE Marking Scheme?
The students can access the subject-wise marking scheme of some of the subjects through the links on the official site. The candidates should only verify clear and correct information on the official site. Here is how students can check the CBSE marking scheme.
- Go to the Official Site: Visit the official site of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), where it is possible to find all the academic material, e.g. sample papers and marking schemes.
- Go to the Marking Scheme Section: Go to the CBSE official webpage and then search the section which is marked as Marking Scheme.
- Click on Download PDF: Click on the Marking Scheme link: This will provide you with the PDF file, which holds the marking information on each of the questions on the paper.
- PDF is to be Downloaded: As soon as you have clicked, the PDF of your Marking Scheme is opened in a new tab, or it begins to download to your computer. It can then be monitored, saved or printed to be used later.
CBSE Marking Scheme for Class 10
The CBSE Class 10 exams are geared towards examining theoretical and practical knowledge . Both the subject marking schemes provide a weighting to the subject of challenge and that helps the students to prioritise their preparation.
All the major subjects in each paper have a total of 100 marks, with 80 in the theory test and 20 in the internal or project work.
1. CBSE Marking Scheme for Science
The CBSE class 10 pattern of the paper of science will be of 80marks and the internal assessment will be 20marks. There has been the inclusion of topics in Physics, Chemistry and Biology.
| Section | Question Type | Number of Questions | Marks per Question | Total Marks |
| A | MCQs (Simple/Complex) | 16 | 1 | 16 |
| Assertion–Reasoning | 4 | 1 | 4 | |
| B | Short Answer (SA) | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| C | Short Answer (SA) | 7 | 3 | 21 |
| D | Long Answer (LA) | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| E | Source/Case/Passage-Based Questions | 3 | 4 | 12 |
2. CBSE Marking Scheme for Maths
According to the pattern of the board exam 2025 class 10 Mathematics, the theory paper will have a total marks of 80 and internal assessment will be 20 marks. Questions that entail significant subjects such as Algebra, Trigonometry and Geometry are supposed to attract a greater mark.
| Section | Question Numbers | Question Type | Marks per Question | Total Questions | Internal Choice |
| A | 1 – 18 | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) | 1 | 18 | N/A |
| 19 – 20 | Assertion–Reason Questions | 1 | 2 | N/A | |
| B | 21 – 25 | Very Short Answer (VSA) Questions | 2 | 5 | 2 questions |
| C | 26 – 31 | Short Answer (SA) Questions | 3 | 6 | 2 questions |
| D | 32 – 35 | Long Answer (LA) Questions | 5 | 4 | 2 questions |
| E | 36 – 38 | Case Study-Based Questions | 4 | 3 | All questions |
3. CBSE Marking Scheme for Social Science
The CBSE class 10 marking scheme shows that the theory paper will be of 80 marks and the internal assessment will be of 20 marks. The subject is classified into 4 sections, which are History, Geography, Political Science and Economics.
| Section | Question Numbers | Type of Questions | Marks per Question | Total Marks |
| A | Q1 – Q20 | Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) | 1 | 20 |
| B | Q21 – Q24 | Very Short Answer Questions | 2 | 8 |
| C | Q25 – Q29 | Short Answer Questions | 3 | 15 |
| D | Q30 – Q33 | Long Answer Questions | 5 | 20 |
| E | Q34 – Q36 | Case-Based Questions with Sub-questions | 4 | 12 |
| F | Q37a & Q37b | Map-Based Questions | NA | 5 |
4. CBSE Marking Scheme for English
According to the CBSE Pattern 2025 Class 10 English, the exam of theory will be of 80 marks, and the internal assessment will be of 20 marks. The test items related to this area would be centred on the reading, writing, grammatical and literature skills of the students.
| Section | Topic | Number of Questions | Mark Per Question | Marks (out of 80) |
| Section-A(Reading Comprehension Through Unseen Passage) | Discursive Passage | 06 | 01 | 10 |
| 02 | 02 | |||
| Case-based Factual Passage | 06 | 01 | 10 | |
| 02 | 02 | |||
| Section-B(Grammar) | Determinants, Tenses, Modals, Subject-Verb Concord, Reported Speech, Commands and Requests, Statements, Questions | 12 (Attempt only 10) | 01 | 10 |
| Section-B(Creative Writing Skills) | Writing a format letter based on a given situation | 2 (Attempt only 1) | 05 | 10 |
| Writing an analytical paragraph on a given Map/Chart /Graph/Cue | 2 (Attempt only 1) | 05 | ||
| Section-C (Literature) | Reference to the Context | 04 + 04 | 05 + 05 | 40 |
| One extract out of two from Drama/Prose | ||||
| One extract out of two extracts from poetry | ||||
| Short Answer Type Questions | 5 (Attempt only 4) | 4*3 | ||
| Short Answer Type Questions | 3 (Attempt only 2) | 2*3 | ||
| Very Long Answer Type Questions | 2 (Attempt only 1) | 6*1 | ||
| Very Long Answer Type Questions | 2 (Attempt only 1) | 6*1 |
5. CBSE Marking Scheme for Hindi
There are two textbooks in the course: क्षितिज भाग–2 and कृतिका भाग–2, and grammar and writing skills, including essays, official letters, and creative compositions. The theory exam has 80 marks, whereas the internal assessment is given 20 marks in the Hindi section.
| Section | Topic | Subtopic | No. of Questions | Mark Per Question | Marks (out of 80) |
| Part-A(MCQ Type Questions) | Comprehension ability and expression skills on unread prose and poetry | a. Unseen Passage (250 words) | 5 | 01 | 05 |
| b. Unseen Poetry (120 words) | 5 | 01 | 05 | ||
| Grammar | a. रचना के आधार पर वाक्य भेद | 5 (attempt only 4) | 01 | 04 | |
| b. वाच्य | 5 (attempt only 4) | 01 | 04 | ||
| c. पद परिचय | 5 (attempt only 4) | 01 | 04 | ||
| d. अलंकार | 5 (attempt only 4) | 01 | 04 | ||
| Literature | a. गद्य | 7 | 01 | 07 | |
| b. कविता | 7 | 01 | 07 | ||
| Part-B(Subjective Type Questions) | गद्य | Very Short-form Answers | 4 (attempt only 3) | 02 | 06 |
| Poetry | Very Short-form Answers | 4 (attempt only 3) | 02 | 06 | |
| Supplementary | Short-form Answers | 3(attempt only 2) | 04 | 08 | |
| Writing | Paragraph Writing (on any 1 of 3 topics} | 3(attempt only 1) | 06 | 06 | |
| Letter Writing (Any 1) | 2(attempt only 1) | 05 | 05 | ||
| Resume Writing or Email Writing | 2(attempt only 1) | 05 | 05 | ||
| Letter Writing /Advertisement Writing | 2(attempt only 1) | 04 | 04 |
CBSE Class 12 Marking Scheme
According to the CBSE marking scheme, subjects of class 12 in the scheme have a total of 100 marks, 80 marks are given to the theory examination, and the remaining 20 marks are to be given on practical work or internal assessment.
However, the Science stream has different marking criteria with 70 marks for the theory examination and 30 marks for the practical.
The test contains at least 50% competency-based questions, which take different formats in the form of multiple choice questions, case-based questions, source-based integrated questions or other novel forms. The percentage differs according to the topic and the year.
There is also the presence of objective-type questions, which take up 20% of the paper, and the other 30% is made up of short answer questions and long answer questions.
1. Science Stream
Each subject, Physics and Chemistry, contains 70 marks of theory and 30 marks of practicals. Computer Science has the same trend in which a student is required to write 70 marks on theory and 30 marks on practical CBSE. Both Biology and Mathematics take the form of theory-based (80 marks) and internal assessment (20 marks).
| Subjects | Download PDF |
| Physics | Download |
| Chemistry | Download |
| Maths | Download |
| Biology | Download |
| Computer Science | Download |
| Data Science | Download |
| Information Technology | Download |
| Medical Diagnostics | Download |
| Electronics Technology | Download |
| Electrical Technology | Download |
2. Commerce Stream
Accountancy and Business Studies have 80marks theory and 20marks project work, and Economics has the same. Mathematics in the commerce stream has 80 marks for theory and 20 marks for internal assessment.
| Subjects | Download PDF |
| Accountancy | Download |
| Business Studies | Download |
| Economics | Download |
| Banking | Download |
| Business Administration | Download |
| Cost Accounting | Download |
| Marketing | Download |
3. Arts Stream
There are Economics, Politics, History, Geography, Sociology and Geology subjects. The common theory of an 80 marks and 20 marks internal assessment pattern is taken by each subject. It concentrates on critical thinking and analytical writing.
| Subjects | Download PDF |
| Political Studies | Download |
| Economics | Download |
| History | Download |
| Geography | Download |
| Geospatial Technology | Download |
| Sociology | Download |
| Home Science | Download |
4. Language
The English has 80 marks on theory and 20 marks on listening and speaking skills. Other languages, such as Hindi or other language subjects, are not an exception because they also emphasise written and oral skills.
| Subjects | Download PDF |
| Hindi Elective | Download |
| Hindi Core | Download |
| English Elective | Download |
| English Core | Download |
| Sanskrit Core | Download |
| Sanskrit Elective | Download |
| Bengali | Download |
| Spanish | Download |
| Telugu | Download |
| Tamil | Download |
Concluding Thoughts
The CBSE marking scheme is a transparent and concise guideline for testing the performance of the students regarding the board examination. It ensures that the students are aware of the weight of each of their sections, their type of questions and subject parts, and students can prepare for a test.
CBSE brings fairness, consistency and accuracy in assessment by adhering to official marking rules. The awareness of the marking scheme enables students to be strategic, pay attention to critical issues and submit their responses in a manner that will ensure they earn the highest mark.
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