RPSC 2nd Grade Exam Pattern 2026: Marks and Marking
The RPSC 2nd Grade exam pattern has two objective papers for the Senior Teacher (Grade II) Competitive Exam conducted by the Rajasthan Public Service Commission. Paper 1 tests general knowledge and educational psychology, and Paper 2 tests your teaching subject. Both papers count towards merit, and there is no interview.
This page covers the pattern used in the current cycle (Advertisement No. 07/2025-26, exam held 12 to 18 July 2026): questions and marks per section, negative marking, the five-option answer sheet, qualifying marks and how merit is worked out. Knowing exactly where the marks sit helps you decide where your preparation time and exam time should go.
Table of Contents
RPSC 2nd Grade Exam Pattern at a Glance
Paper 1 Pattern
Paper 2 Pattern
Marking Scheme and Negative Marking
What the Pattern Means for You
Is There an Interview or Other Stage?
Final Merit Calculation
Time Management and Exam-Day Strategy
RPSC 2nd Grade Exam Pattern at a Glance
Stage | Format | Marks | Duration | Counted in final merit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Paper 1 | Objective, offline OMR | 200 | 2 hours | Yes |
Paper 2 | Objective, offline OMR | 300 | 2 hours 30 minutes | Yes |
Document verification | Eligibility check | None | Not applicable | No (qualifying) |
Paper 1 Pattern
Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Geographical, historical, cultural and general knowledge of Rajasthan | 40 | 80 | 2 hours (whole paper) |
Current affairs of Rajasthan | 10 | 20 | Within 2 hours |
General knowledge of the world and India | 30 | 60 | Within 2 hours |
Educational psychology | 20 | 40 | Within 2 hours |
Total | 100 | 200 | 2 hours |
Paper 1 is held group-wise. In the July 2026 schedule, Group A (Social Science), Group B (Hindi), Group C (Science and Sanskrit) and Group D (Mathematics, English and the other language subjects) each took Paper 1 on a different morning.
Paper 2 Pattern
Section | Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
Secondary and senior secondary standard | 90 | 180 | 2 hours 30 minutes (whole paper) |
Graduation standard | 40 | 80 | Within 2 hours 30 minutes |
Teaching methods | 20 | 40 | Within 2 hours 30 minutes |
Total | 150 | 300 | 2 hours 30 minutes |
Paper 2 is set for the subject you applied for, and all three parts are from that subject. Check your admit card and the question booklet instructions for the medium and other rules.
Marking Scheme and Negative Marking
Marks per question: Every question in both papers carries 2 marks.
Negative marking: One-third of the marks of a question, that is about 0.67 marks, is deducted for each wrong answer.
Five options: Each question has four answer options and a fifth option to mark if you do not want to attempt it. The fifth option carries no negative mark.
10 percent rule: If you leave more than 10 percent of the questions with none of the five options marked, you are disqualified. RPSC reportedly disqualified 880 Social Science candidates in this cycle on this ground.
Minimum qualifying marks: Candidates reportedly need at least 40 percent in each paper (35 percent for SC and ST) to be considered for merit. Confirm the exact rule in the advertisement.
What the Pattern Means for You
Section | Marks per question | Cost of a wrong answer | Share of total marks |
|---|---|---|---|
Paper 1, any section | 2 | 0.67 | 40 percent (200 of 500) |
Paper 2, any section | 2 | 0.67 | 60 percent (300 of 500) |
Paper 2 decides merit: School-level subject content alone is worth 180 marks, nearly as much as the whole of Paper 1.
Guess only with elimination: If you can rule out two options, a guess adds about 0.67 marks on average. A blind guess on four options only breaks even.
Fill the fifth option deliberately: Every skipped question must still have the fifth bubble filled, or it counts towards the 10 percent limit.
Clear both papers: A very high Paper 2 score does not help if Paper 1 falls below the qualifying mark.
Is There an Interview or Other Stage?
No. After the written result, RPSC releases a provisional list for eligibility checking. Listed candidates fill a detailed application form online, and the Secondary Education Department verifies original documents. These steps confirm eligibility but add no marks.
Final Merit Calculation
Merit is prepared subject-wise, category-wise and separately for Non-TSP and TSP areas, using the combined score out of 500 after negative marking.
For example, suppose you attempt 90 questions in Paper 1 with 75 correct and 15 wrong, and mark the fifth option on 10. Your Paper 1 score is 75 x 2 minus 15 x 0.67, which is about 140. If you score 210 in Paper 2, your merit score is about 350 out of 500.
Time Management and Exam-Day Strategy
Paper 1: Plan about 1 minute per question, which leaves around 20 minutes for review. Clear current affairs and educational psychology first, then Rajasthan GK, then world and India GK.
Paper 2: Plan a little under 1 minute per question so that 10 to 15 minutes remain for review and OMR checks.
OMR discipline: Fill bubbles as you go in blocks of 10 to 20 questions. Leave time to check that no question has all five options blank. Practise this routine in timed mocks on Testkart before the exam.
Reporting: Reach the centre well before gate closing time with your admit card and an original photo ID.
Older pages may still show the previous cycle's dates or describe four options only, so follow the instructions in the current advertisement and on your admit card. The official notices are on the RPSC website.
Frequently Asked Questions
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