The Central Council of Secondary Education (CBSE) has introduced the Better Marks Rule as part of the new two-board examination system for class 10, which will be implemented from the academic session of 2026. The rule gives students an opportunity to improve their performance in board examinations without the risk of losing marks.Under the new system, students can appear for both board exams in the same academic year. The first exam remains compulsory for all students in class 10; the second exam is optional. It is aimed at those students who want to improve their grade or clearly failed subjects. Both exams were also held this year. Students who have taken both exams should know the best score rule.The biggest advantage of the best marks rule is that CBSE will consider only the highest marks scored in each subject while preparing the final result.
How the best grades rule works
Students will first appear in the regular board examination to be held at the end of the academic session. After the results are declared, those who are not satisfied with their scores can choose to appear for the second board exam in the selected subjects.In case a student takes both the exams, CBSE will compare the marks obtained in each of the subjects. The highest score will be recorded in the final grade.For example, if a student scores 72 in Maths in the first exam and 85 in the second exam, the final grade will show 85. However, if the student scores lower in the second attempt, the marks in the first exam will remain unchanged.This means that students can take the second exam without worrying about losing the marks they had already achieved.
The rule applies separately to each subject
The best marks rule applies subject wise. A student can improve marks in one subject while retaining the original score in another. For example, if the second attempt results in better marks in science but lower marks in English, CBSE will record the improved science marks and retain the previous English score.Therefore, the final grade will include the best score obtained in each subject in both exams.
A move to reduce exam pressure
The Better Marks rule, a key feature of CBSE’s new evaluation system, is fully aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.The board aims to reduce the stress associated with a single high-level exam by giving students another chance to perform better in the same academic year.Previously, students who wanted to improve their grades or failings in a subject often had to wait for supplementary tests or the next academic session. The new system allows them to improve their performance without wasting valuable time.