Students in Classes 10 and 12 can now start their board prep with the real thing in hand. CBSE has put out the Sample Question Papers (SQPs) and Marking Schemes for the 2026-27 academic session, and the download links are already live. Best part for anyone worried about surprises: nothing about the paper pattern has changed.
The CBSE Sample Question Papers 2026-27 for Class 10 and 12 give students a clear picture of how their board papers will look, section by section. Teachers use them to plan classroom practice. The Board says these papers work as a template, so both students and schools know exactly what to expect in the exam hall.
Where to download the CBSE Sample Question Papers 2026-27
The papers are subject-wise and come with their Marking Schemes, which show how answers get scored. Grab them from the official academic site:
- Class 10: https://cbseacademic.nic.in/SQP_CLASSX_2026-27.html
- Class 12: https://cbseacademic.nic.in/SQP_CLASSXII_2026-27.html
No change in pattern or passing marks
Here’s the reassuring bit. The Board has confirmed there’s no change in the question paper design and the assessment pattern for the 2026-27 session. The passing criteria also stay exactly as they were in 2025-26. So the strategy students followed last year still holds.
What should a Class 10 or 12 student actually do with these papers? Solve them under timed conditions. Then check your answers against the Marking Scheme to see where marks come from and where you’re losing them. This is one of the closest looks you get at the actual exam before the actual exam.
CBSE issues SQPs every year so that question papers stay uniform across its huge network of affiliated schools and cover the syllabus properly. The focus, the Board notes, is on applying concepts to real-life situations, not rote learning. That means practising application-type questions matters more than memorising.
Got a doubt or some feedback on the sample papers? CBSE has opened an email line for it: cbsesqp@cbseshiksha.in. Download both the SQP and its Marking Scheme together, and treat every sample paper as a mock exam.