The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has issued revised Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for practical exams, project work and internal assessments for Classes 10 and 12 in the 2025–26 academic session, marking a push toward uniformity and transparency in evaluations across affiliated schools.
According to the December 1, 2025, circular, practical exams for ‘winter-bound’ schools will be held from November 6-December 6, 2025, while regular-session schools will conduct them between January 1-February 14, 2026. All schools must upload marks on the same day of assessment via the CBSE web portal, and once entered, marks cannot be modified.
For Class 10, assessments will be conducted entirely by school staff; no external examiners will be appointed. Schools are required to preserve answer books, project records and other assessment documentation, and then submit these materials to the relevant CBSE regional office. Complete records must be maintained in line with board regulations.
Class 12 will follow a stricter model. The board will deploy external examiners for practical assessments, and both internal and external examiners must be present during each evaluation. A mandatory inspection of laboratories by external examiners is scheduled for the day before the practicals begin to verify the availability of equipment, chemicals, and other essentials. Practical exams must be organised into batches of 30 students, with 15 sub-groups permitted for lab or written components. Schools must also upload group photos featuring students, examiners and observers.
The CBSE has imposed firm compliance requirements. Any deviation from the SOPs could lead to cancellation of practical exams and re-conduct under direct board supervision. Attendance sheets, award lists and supporting documents must be retained securely for at least one year after results are declared. The Board has cautioned that any instance of malpractice must be reported immediately and may result in strict penalties.
In conjunction with these SOPs, CBSE has released the final datesheet for the 2025–26 Board exams, which begin on February 17, 2026.