MyAiSchool 
CBSE has published the shape of your 2027 board paper. Most students will never read the marking scheme. The 2026-27 sample papers and marking schemes went up on cbseacademic.nic.in on 21 September with no change in design; about half the paper is competency-based; the scheme pays per value point and per step, with a half-mark for a missing unit. Read the scheme first, then the paper, then do three passes.
Last updated: 1 October 2026
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sample papers + marking schemes | online since 21 September 2026; design unchanged from last year |
| Competency-based share | about 50% |
| Class 10 Science, section by section | A · 20 × 1 mark (MCQs and assertion–reason) · B · 6 × 2 · C · 7 × 3 · D · 3 × 5 · E · 3 case-based × 4 — 80 marks, 3 hours |
| How a 3-mark answer is split | three value points, one mark each — or formula · working · answer with unit for a numerical |
| The half-mark | a missing or wrong SI unit costs ½ mark, however right the number is |
| Two options ticked on an MCQ | 0 marks |
| Class 12 evaluation | answer books scanned and marked on screen since 2026 |
Saturday 3 October, 6:00–7:15 PM · free and live. CBSE Sample Papers 2026-27, Decoded — one Science and one Maths answer marked on screen against the official scheme, then a section of the real 2026 board paper marked the same way. Classes 10 & 12; 9 & 11 welcome. Recording to everyone who registers.
What did CBSE release on 21 September?
For every subject in Class 10 and Class 12: a sample question paper, and beside it a marking scheme. The paper shows the design — sections, marks, question forms, internal choices. The scheme shows, for each question, exactly what earns each mark. The full release and the first pass are in what changed and how to use the sample papers; this post is about the scheme.
How is the paper built, section by section?
Take Class 10 Science as the worked example. Five sections, eighty marks, three hours:
| Section | Questions | Marks | What the scheme looks for | Suggested time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 20 objective — MCQs and assertion–reason | 20 | the one correct option; two options marked scores zero | ~25 min |
| B | 6 short answers | 12 | two value points each | ~20 min |
| C | 7 short answers | 21 | three value points, or formula–working–answer | ~45 min |
| D | 3 long answers, internal choice | 15 | five points; a labelled diagram often carries one of them | ~40 min |
| E | 3 case-based, sub-questions | 12 | the line that applies the concept to the passage, not a retelling | ~30 min |
Add the times and there are about twenty minutes left for reading the paper first and checking units at the end. Most students give Section A forty minutes and Section D fifteen; the scheme rewards the opposite.
How does the marking scheme give a mark?
Value points. A 3-mark question is three things. Write them as three lines and the examiner ticks three times. Write them as one paragraph and the examiner has to find them — and one is usually missing, because a paragraph hides gaps from the writer too.
Step marks. A numerical is paid for the formula, the substitution with units, the working, and the final answer with its unit. Four things, four marks (or half-marks). A student who gets the arithmetic wrong at the last line keeps three of them. A student who writes only the right final number, no working, keeps one.
Diagrams and labels. Where the scheme says “labelled diagram — 1 mark”, an unlabelled one is zero for that point. The arrow on a ray, the direction of current, the axis names on a graph: each is a mark the scheme names.
Why does a right answer still lose marks?
Because the scheme pays for evidence, not conclusions. The three habits that lose marks on correct work, in order of how often we see them on marked papers:
- The missing unit. 25 m/s written as 25. Half a mark, every time, in every numerical.
- The paragraph. A 3-mark answer with the three points buried in five sentences, one of which contradicts another.
- The invisible step. Substitution done in the head, written nowhere. Since 2026, Class 12 answer books are scanned and marked on screen — a step that is not on the page does not exist.
What are the three passes?
Pass one — read only. The whole paper, no answering. Sections, marks, internal choices. Fifteen minutes, once.
Pass two — timed. Three hours, on paper, with the clock, after your syllabus is done.
Pass three — mark yourself with the scheme. Open the marking scheme and score your own paper the way it says: per value point, per step, minus the half-marks for units. This is the pass that teaches; it is also the pass almost nobody does, because it is uncomfortable. Do it the same day, while you still remember what you were thinking.
Do pass three on a real paper. The 2026 board papers for Class 10 — Science, Mathematics (Standard), Social Science and English — are on myAiSchool word for word, with their marking schemes, and are marked against those schemes when you sit them. Two are free on any account.
What should Class 12 students know about on-screen marking?
Your answer book is scanned and the examiner marks the image, question by question. Nothing in the scheme changes; what changes is that legibility is now part of the method. Steps on separate lines, units written, diagrams labelled in pen, nothing in the margin, and the question number at the start of every answer. A neat page is not for style — it is so that every step the scheme pays for can be seen.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the CBSE marking scheme 2026-27?
On cbseacademic.nic.in, beside each subject’s sample question paper under SQP 2026-27. It is a separate PDF.
Is the marking scheme the same as the answer key?
It is more than an answer key: for each question it lists the value points or steps and the marks for each, which is how the examiner scores you.
How many marks do I lose for a missing unit?
Typically half a mark per numerical, whatever the number. Write the unit every time.
What happens if I mark two options in an MCQ?
Zero for that question, even if one of them is right. Cross out clearly if you change your mind.
Does step marking apply to Maths as well as Science?
Yes. Formula, working and answer are paid separately in Maths too, and a correct method with an arithmetic slip keeps most of the marks.
Does on-screen marking apply to Class 10?
Not in 2026 — Class 10 answer books were still marked physically. Write legibly anyway; the scheme is the same.
Watch pass three happen live. Saturday 3 October, 6 PM — real answers marked against the 2026-27 scheme, on screen, free. Classes 10 & 12; 9 & 11 welcome.