CBSE sample papers 2026-27: what changed and how to use them

Class 10 Maths Standard (041): sample paper layout 2026-27

From the official 2026-27 sample paper. Maths Basic (241) follows the same 80-mark, 3-hour format.

Internal choice in 2 questions each in Sections B, C and D and in the 2-mark sub-parts of Section E. Calculators are not allowed. Internal assessment adds 20 marks to the 80-mark paper.

Other papers at a glance

Check the SQP for each subject your child takes: section structures differ between subjects.

What the sample paper is, and is not

CBSE describes SQPs as a broad template: they show the design, the type of questions and the balance of the paper so that schools can teach towards it. They are not a prediction of the actual 2027 questions. Students who memorise the SQP answers gain little. Students who use it to learn the shape of the paper, how long each section really takes, and what the marking scheme rewards gain a lot.

The Class 10 curriculum for 2026-27 says about 50% of board questions are competency-focused: case-based, source-based, integrated, data interpretation, situational and application questions. These are where well-prepared students still lose marks, because they answer from memory instead of using the data or passage given. Treat Section E in maths and the case-based questions in science as the priority when practising.

A plan for using the 2026-27 SQPs

1. October: read the SQP for each subject untimed, with the marking scheme beside it. Note how marks are split inside long answers.
2. November: answer one section at a time under timed conditions and self-mark strictly against the marking scheme.
3. December: sit the full SQP in 3 hours for each main subject. Keep a list of every mark lost and why.
4. January: use previous years' SQPs from CBSE's archive for more full papers, since the 2026-27 design is unchanged from 2025-26.
5. The last month before the exam: redo only the questions from your lost-marks list, and practise writing answers in the marking scheme's steps.

How one-to-one lessons use sample papers

A tutor who teaches CBSE uses the SQP and marking scheme as the lesson plan's backbone. Your child attempts a section before the lesson; in the lesson the tutor marks it against the official scheme, explains each lost mark, and then sets two or three similar questions on the shared whiteboard so the fix sticks. Over a term, this turns the SQP from a document students download and ignore into a precise list of what to improve. Feedback on the SQPs can also be sent to CBSE at [email protected] if a question or answer seems wrong.