Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Class 10

The ICSE Class 10 exam, formally the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education examination, is the Class 10 board exam conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE). Students of CISCE-affiliated schools appear for it through their schools. The ICSE Board Exam 2027 combines written papers set and marked by CISCE with internal assessment done by the school, such as projects, practicals and course work, so a student's result reflects both classroom work and the final papers. The certificate marks the end of secondary schooling and is what students use when they choose a stream or course after Class 10.

As of 30 September 2026, the ICSE Class 10 timetable for 2027 was not yet visible on the official CISCE website, cisce.org. For reference, in the previous cycle CISCE released the ICSE 2026 timetable in November 2025, the written papers ran from 17 February to 30 March 2026, and the results were declared on 30 April 2026. Students can expect a similar window for ICSE 2027, but this is an expectation and not an announced schedule.

This guide explains how the ICSE 10th exam works, using CISCE's Regulations for the ICSE Year 2027 examination as the base. It covers who can appear, the subject groups, the marking scheme, pass criteria, results, recheck and improvement options, exam-day rules and a practical preparation plan. Students can use it to understand the exam, and parents can use it to see what the school and the board expect at each stage.

Table of Contents

ICSE Class 10 Exam 2027

The table below collects the basic facts about the ICSE Board Exam 2027 in one place.

Latest Updates

CISCE has not published the ICSE 2027 timetable on its website as of 30 September 2026. The date sheet, specimen papers and any change to the syllabus will be announced on cisce.org, so students and parents should check it regularly instead of relying on unofficial date sheets that circulate online.

The Regulations also require every registered candidate to download the Regulations and Syllabuses for the year of the examination from the CISCE website, and schools are responsible for making sure this is done.

Important Dates

About CISCE and the ICSE

According to its Regulations, CISCE was established in 1958 and conducts the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE), the Indian School Certificate (ISC) and the Certificate of Vocational Education (CVE) examinations. The ICSE is designed as a course of general education through the medium of English. All candidates are required to enter for six or more subjects along with Socially Useful Productive Work, so the course is deliberately broad instead of narrowly specialised.

The ICSE is a school examination. It presupposes a school course of ten years, Classes 1 to 10, and the two years of Classes 9 and 10 form the course leading to the board exam. Registration for the ICSE is done online in Class 9, and schools confirm the entries of Class 10 candidates online before the examination.

Who Can Appear for ICSE Class 10

A student is entered for the ICSE only by the school they are attending, and the decision of the Head of the School on this is final. Key conditions from the Regulations are:

• Attendance: A first-time candidate needs at least 75% attendance of the working days in each year of the two-year course, counted up to 15 February of each year. The Chief Executive and Secretary of CISCE can condone a shortage where attendance is not below 60%, and in exceptional cases such as serious illness or authorised participation in sports or cultural events at state, national or international level, even below that.

• Private candidates: They are not permitted to appear.

• Age limit: There is no age limit.

• Promotion from Class 9: A student needs at least 33% in five subjects, including English, on the cumulative average, along with 75% attendance.

• Subject changes: A student cannot change subjects after 15 September of the year of registration in Class 9, and cannot take a subject in Class 10 that was not registered and studied in Class 9.

Subjects and Groups

Every candidate enters for at least six subjects: the compulsory Group I subjects, two or three subjects from Group II and one or two from Group III. Schools may offer only subjects for which they can make teaching provision. The Regulations expect students to normally offer both Science and Mathematics from Group II, and schools must explain the implications if a student chooses another combination. For admission to the ISC Class 12 course, all combinations of subjects are accepted.

Some combinations are not allowed, for example Economics with Economic Applications, Commercial Studies with Commercial Applications, or Environmental Science with Environmental Application. A student also cannot take the same modern foreign language across different groups. Besides the examined subjects, candidates must have completed courses in a third language from Class 5 to Class 8, Art, Physical Education, and Education in Moral and Spiritual Values, and must be assessed by the school in Socially Useful Productive Work and Community Service.

Choice of Languages

Language choice is a distinctive part of the ICSE. Besides English, a candidate may offer one or two Second Languages from a list that includes Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Assamese, Nepali and several others approved by CISCE, or one foreign language such as French, German or Spanish, provided the school has the required teachers and infrastructure. Where a candidate offers two Second Languages in Group I, one of them must be Hindi.

A student who takes a particular language as the third language cannot offer that language as a Second Language. This is why language decisions are best made with the school in Class 9, instead of being left for Class 10.

Marking Scheme and Internal Assessment

Each subject is marked out of 100. In Groups I and II, the written paper set and marked by CISCE carries 80 marks and the school's internal assessment carries 20. In Group III, the split is 50 and 50. The two parts are added to give the subject total.

Internal assessment is based on assignments, project work, practicals and course work. Schools assess it and submit the marks online to CISCE. For project work at the ICSE level, working science models are not required, the candidate does not need to be present during assessment, and there is no viva-voce. This makes regular classwork and timely project submission important, because up to a fifth of the marks in most subjects are decided before the board papers begin.

Pass Criteria and Grades

The pass mark for each subject is 33%. A Pass Certificate cum Statement of Marks is awarded to a candidate who has been entered for at least six subjects and has reached the pass standard in at least five, which must include English. The candidate must also have a pass grade in Socially Useful Productive Work and Community Service, assessed by the school.

Results show a grade from 1 to 9 for each subject, where 1 is the highest.

Socially Useful Productive Work and Community Service is graded A to E, where A, B, C and D are passing grades and E is a fail.

Result, Recheck and Improvement Exam

Schools and candidates can view and print the result online, and result documents are sent to Heads of Schools afterwards. If a student is not satisfied with a grade, the Regulations provide the following steps:

• Recheck: An online application must reach CISCE within four days of the result declaration, with a fee per subject or paper. A recheck only verifies that all answers were marked, that marks were totalled and transferred correctly, and that continuation sheets are intact.

• Re-evaluation: A candidate who is not satisfied with the recheck result can apply within three days of the recheck results being declared. Marks awarded after re-evaluation, whether higher or lower, are final.

• Improvement examination: Candidates can appear in a maximum of two subjects in the same year to improve marks. Schools register them in June or July. The higher of the two marks in a subject is taken as final, and project marks are carried forward. Candidates marked absent in the main examination are not eligible.

• Not Qualified result: Such a candidate can take the Improvement Examination in up to two subjects where the pass mark of 33% was not secured. Otherwise, re-appearing in all registered subjects is allowed once, in the following year, without further attendance at school.

Answer scripts are the property of CISCE and are not returned, and CISCE does not allow inspection of scripts.

Exam Day Rules

CISCE's Regulations set out strict conduct rules, and students should read them with their school before the papers begin.

• Not allowed in the hall: Textbooks, notes, chits, smart watches, mobile phones, earphones, wireless devices, cameras and any electronic device that can be used for communication.

• Stationery: Blue or black ink pens for answers, pencils only for diagrams, and geometry and drawing instruments. Calculators are allowed only where the paper permits them, and mathematical tables are provided in the hall.

• Reading time: It is printed on the first page of each question paper.

• Unfair means: Penalties can include cancellation of the result in the paper or in the whole examination.

• Special needs and difficulties: Heads of schools can apply for concessions for candidates with disabilities, and submit a Special Difficulty Form in cases such as injury or bereavement.

How to Prepare

Preparation for the ICSE Class 10 exam works best when it is planned around how the marks are built.

• Start with the official syllabus: Download the Regulations and Syllabuses from cisce.org and mark each subject's topics. The syllabus is subject to CISCE revision, so use the current year's document.

• Protect the 20 marks: Finish projects, practicals and assignments on time and keep the school records in order. In Group III subjects, where half the marks are internal, this matters even more.

• Do not neglect English: A pass in English is required for the Pass Certificate, and it has a Language paper and a Literature paper. Regular writing practice in composition and letters pays off across every subject.

• Practise written answers: The papers are descriptive, so practise writing complete, well-organised answers within the time limit instead of only reading notes.

• Use specimen and previous papers: Attempt them in exam conditions, time each section and review mistakes.

• Revise in rounds: Plan two or three revision cycles, giving extra time to the subjects where your practice scores are lowest, and keep the last week for light revision and formulas, definitions and diagrams.