The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) awards grades to students for all subjects, along with the marks obtained by them in the CBSE 10th board exams. These CBSE Class 10 grades are assigned and reflected in the final CBSE 10th result marksheet, which is issued to the students. CBSE follows a ‘Relative Grading System,’ which is considered to be a more scientific approach than an Absolute Grading System. A relative grading system (also called grading on a curve) is a method where students’ grades are determined by comparing their performance with that of other students in the same group, rather than against a fixed standard. In this system, marks are distributed based on overall class performance. For example, only a certain percentage of students may receive the highest grade (like A or A+), regardless of how high or low the overall scores are. In this article, we have discussed the CBSE Class X grading system 2026 in detail.
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For awarding grades to students, the CBSE Board follows a rank order, as mentioned in the table below. Students who have passed the CBSE Class 10 board exams are divided into 8 groups and awarded grades. The division of group details can be checked in the table below:
Grades | Particulars |
A-1 | Top 1/8th of the passed candidates |
A-2 | Next 1/8th of the passed candidates |
B-1 | Next 1/8th of the passed candidates |
B-2 | Next 1/8th of the passed candidates |
C-1 | Next 1/8th of the passed candidates |
C-2 | Next 1/8th of the passed candidates |
D-1 | Next 1/8th of the passed candidates |
D-2 | Next 1/8th of the passed candidates |
E* | *Essential Repeat |
For Art Education in CBSE Class 10, a five-point grading system is followed. The grade allocation and its connotations are mentioned in the table below:
Grade | Connotation |
A | Exemplary |
B | Proficient |
C | Developing |
D | Emerging |
E | Beginner |
The CBSE Board needs to divide students into 8 equal groups and award grades to them. Minor adjustments are made in cases of ties. The proportion of candidates is nearly the same in all groups.
Students who obtain the same score are kept in the same group and awarded the same grade.
It should be noted that any candidate who obtains equal scores in any 2 subjects may not necessarily get the same grade. This is how the Relative Grading system works.
As per CBSE’s official notice, the grading method is used in subjects where more than at least 500 candidates are declared pass.
In subjects where the number of passed students is less than 500, a different grading system is adopted by the board. The demonstration of how the CBSE Class X grading system works can be seen in the image given below:
CBSE Class 10 Grading System Hypothetical Example

For awarding grades in CBSE 10th external exams, a 9-point grading system is used, which ranges from A1 to E grade.
For internal exams or internal assessment, a five-point grade scale is used, which ranges from A to E grades only.
For theory subjects and practical components, students get both numerical scores and grades.
The top 0.1% of students in each subject get a merit certificate.
Certificates are not awarded for subjects where the number of students who passed the subject is less than 500.
Students who obtain the same scores in any subject are awarded certificates if there is a tie.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Students need at least a D-2 grade to be declared pass in the CBSE 10th exams.
Once CBSE 10th results are announced, students cannot change their grades.They can, however, take improvement exams and then the new score obtained may change their original grade.
A student may not necessarily get the same grade in 2 subjects even if the marks obtained are the same. This is because CBSE follows a Relative grading system and grades awarded are based on competition level in the respective subjects.
On Question asked by student community
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Here is your CBSE Class 10 Science (Hindi Medium) Sample Paper with Solution 2025-26
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