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Beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, students will be able to choose between two-tier difficulty levels for Science and Social Science for Class 9 and 10 exams, as announced by the CBSE officials.
CBSE Science and Social 'Basic and Advanced' Papers: Two-Tier scheme to be launchedCBSE Science and Social 'Basic and Advanced' Papers: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will start offering two levels of difficulty – Standard and Advanced – for Science and Social Science subjects in Class 9 from 2026. This change was approved by the Governing Body after a proposal from the National School Board’s Curriculum Committee. The new system will also apply to the Class 10 Board exams in 2028.
The official said science and social science may have either a single question paper with an extra set of questions for the advanced level or separate question papers for each level in the 2028 class 10 board exams. The two levels are in line with the National Education Policy 2020, which recommended that “all subjects and corresponding assessments, beginning with mathematics, could be offered at two levels, with students doing some of their subjects at the standard level and others at a higher level.”
Currently, only Mathematics is offered at two levels in Class 10. The two levels have the same syllabus but differ in question difficulty.
With science and social science set to be offered at two levels in Class 9 next year, the board has requested the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) to publish new Class 9 and 10 textbooks for science and social science with an additional section incorporating material for the advanced level. NCERT is planning to release new textbooks for classes 4, 5, 7, and 8 for the 2025-26 session and class 9 before the 2026-27 session.
From the next session, Students will be required to choose one of the two levels of science and social science in Class 9. This proposal has been formulated as per the new National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which highlights the importance of removing academic stress and limiting the increasing reliance on external coaching.
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