CBSE Second Class X Board Exam Lifts Pass Percentage To 96.78%
On Saturday, the Central Board of Secondary Education declared the results of its first-ever second Class X board examination, a major milestone reported from Mumbai. This newly introduced assessment system resulted in nearly 3.1 lakh students successfully improving their scores. The combined outcomes of the main and second examinations have officially pushed the overall Class X pass percentage for the 2026 batch of students to 96.78%.
The introduction of this second board examination marks the successful rollout of the first year of the Central Board of Secondary Education's new two-exam system for Class X. This structural dual-exam format was introduced in line with the major educational reforms proposed under the National Education Policy 2020, designed to give students a second chance to clear or improve their board results.
According to the official data released by the board, a total of 6,64,027 candidates registered for this historic second board examination. Out of these registered candidates, 6,63,777 students actually appeared to write the exams. The vast majority of these candidates, numbering more than 5.13 lakh, were seeking to better their performance in the main examination.
Specifically, 5,13,955 students took the second board examination to improve their marks after the main board exams. Among these candidates, 3,08,095 students—representing 59.95% of the improvement test-takers—successfully bettered their academic performance.
In addition to those seeking score improvements, a significant number of candidates wrote the exam under the compartment category. Out of the 1,49,822 students who appeared in the compartment category, 78,503 successfully passed the exam. This brought the compartment pass percentage to 52.40%, marking an increase from the 48.68% compartment pass percentage recorded last year.
Following the combined results of both the main and the second examinations, the final overall Class X pass percentage for the 2026 batch stood at 96.78%, highlighting the impact of the new policy on student outcomes.
