CBSE Class 10 Total Marks – 500 or 600? Explained

CBSE Class 10 Total Marks – 500 or 600? Explained

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CBSE Class 10th Exam Date:01 Jan' 26 - 14 Feb' 26

Mangane PriyankaUpdated on 08 Sep 2025, 03:40 PM IST

The Central Board of Secondary Education prescribes CBSE 10th Class total marks as 500, with candidates opting for five core academic subjects like Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science. Each subject is worth 100 marks, which is divided into 80 for theory and 20 for internal assessment. However, students can also take a skill-based or an additional subject as a sixth subject in the CBSE Class 10 board exam, which will increase their total marks to 600. But the board considers the best five subjects, which makes it a total of 500 marks. Read the article to learn more about the CBSE Class 10 total marks of 500 or 600.

CBSE Class 10 Total Marks – 500 or 600? Explained
CBSE Class 10 Total Marks 500 or 600

CBSE Total Marks are 500

The CBSE Board uses the “Best of 5 Rule” when calculating the student’s final grade. This means the lowest-scoring subject will be dropped if students opt for the sixth subject and the total marks are considered as 500.

Students scoring out of 500 marks in the CBSE 10th result means that the candidate has not opted for any additional subject. Their marks will be calculated and graded in the CBSE marksheet based on the core subjects. Each core subject consists of a maximum of 100 marks, which will lead to a total of 500 marks for five subjects.

CBSE Best of Five Rule

The Central Board introduced an evaluation system of the “Best of Five Rule”, which will benefit students in considering their top-performing subjects when calculating the final aggregate marks in the CBSE results for Class 10. The Best of Five rule aims to provide candidates with an opportunity to score better marks based on their highest-scoring marks. When a student takes an additional subject, the overall calculation of marks will be from the best five-scoring subjects. The CBSE Best of Five Rule effectively calculates the maximum total marks of 500, which will allow for the highest possible score.

How to Consider Total Marks if you have 6 Subjects?

Students can use the best of five rule to consider the CBSE 10th Class total marks for 6 subjects. They can add marks from the best-scoring subjects and use the same for CBSE Class 10 percentage calculation. The CBSE skill-based subject marks are considered only if the student scores higher than the marks in any of the core subjects. This will replace the lowest score subject in the marks calculation. CBSE skill-based subjects have a good scope in the 10th Class in evolving students' careers.

CBSE Subject-Wise Total Marks

Subjects

Theory marks

Practical marks

Total marks

Hindi Course- A

80

20

100

Hindi Course-B

80

20

100

Science

80

20

100

Social Science

80

20

100

English (Communicative)

80

20

100

Mathematics Basic

80

20

100

Mathematics Advance

80

20

100

Other Regional & Foreign Languages

80

20

100

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How will my marks be calculated in the CBSE 10th if I opt for the sixth subject?
A:

The CBSE board calculates the marks with the best of five rule, considering the highest-scoring subjects in the total marks. 

Q: Can I opt for an additional subject in the CBSE 10th board exam?
A:

Yes, students can opt for additional subjects or skills-based subjects in the CBSE Class 10 board exam.

Q: What are the core subjects in the CBSE Class 10 board examination?
A:

The CBSE 10th Class exam consists of 5 core subjects. They are - Hindi, English, Mathematics, Science, and Social Science. 

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Questions related to CBSE Class 10th

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CBSE Class 10th ?

Good Morning, candidate,

The question papers will be available soon at the link attached herewith. You can keep an eye on the website of careers360. it will provide you perfect pattern of question papers, which will improve your writing skills and practice learning.

https://school.careers360.com/articles/cbse-sahodaya-class-10-pre-board- question-paper-2025-26

Thank you.

Hello,

You can download subject wise CBSE Sahodaya Class 10 Pre-Board Question Paper 2025-26 for Round 1 & Round 2 from this link : CBSE Sahodaya Class 10 Pre-Board Question Paper 2025-26

Hope it helps !

Hello there,

Solving question papers is one of the best method of preparation. It gives you proper idea about the exam pattern and important topics to cover.

Here is the link attached from the official website of Careers360 which will provide you with the CBSE Sahodaya question papers. Hope it helps!

https://school.careers360.com/articles/sahodaya-question-paper-2025

thank you!

The CBSE Class 10 Hindi Question Paper Blueprint (Marking Pattern) for the 2025-2026 Board Exam is divided into four main sections, with a total of 80 marks for the written exam. The structure is slightly different for Hindi Course A and Hindi Course B.You can download the official Sample Question Paper (SQP) and its Marking Scheme for both Hindi Course A and Course B here: https://school.careers360.com/boards/cbse/cbse-class-10-hindi-sample-papers-2025-26

The CBSE Sahodaya Question Papers for Class 10 (2025-26) are not released centrally by the board as a single PDF.

Here is the essential information you need:

  1. Local Release: The papers are designed and released by the individual Sahodaya School Clusters (groups of CBSE schools) just before or during the pre-board exam dates (typically held in December and January). Therefore, you must check your local cluster's portal or directly with your school administration.

  2. Best Practice: The official model papers, based on the full 2026 syllabus, are the most reliable tool for practice. These accurately reflect the structure, format, and competency-based questions used in the Sahodaya exams.

You can download the latest CBSE Class 10 Model Papers to simulate the Sahodaya tests here: https://school.careers360.com/articles/sahodaya-question-paper-2025 . Focus on that pattern