Several CBSE schools are telling Class X students and their parents to focus on their first board exam instead of banking on the cushion of the second to improve their scores.

Starting 2026, students appearing for the CBSE Class X board examinations will have the option of a second test in the same year to improve their performance, a new rule announced by the board in June.

Students can appear for up to three subjects among science, mathematics, social science, and languages.

“Students should lay stress on the first exam, which is vital. They should take the first one seriously, and try to do well in that instead of being pushed into writing two exams,” said Loveleen Saigal, principal, Birla High School.

“There are two opportunities given to them, but it is better if they work hard for the first; they can avoid the second,” echoed Meena Kak, director, Lakshmipat Singhania Academy.

Kak said if students do not do well, they have a second option available, but they should not bank on that from the beginning and take the first lightly.

“If they are not prepared for the first exam, they will not be ready for the second either,” said Kak.

According to the CBSE, the first exam will be held in mid-February and the second in May. Both exams will be conducted on the full syllabus meant for one year. The result of the first exam will be declared in April.

Teachers said an initial mindset to appear for two exams would automatically prolong the preparation time for students.

“As it is, students will go to Class XI, and a second exam will only prolong the time invested for what is essentially one exam,” a teacher said.

Students will have to appear for the first exam, and there is no way they can bypass that, the board has said. If a student has not appeared in three or more subjects in the first exam, they will not be allowed to take the second.

“Students have to focus on the first round, which is compulsory. Why do you have to think of the second initially? It is optional, and you can’t appear for more than three subjects?” said Koeli Dey, principal of Sushila Birla Girls’ School.

The school has already had two separate sessions with parents and children to “understand their pulse”.

Schools are also seeing the second as another form of an improvement exam. The difference is that till 2025, students could take the improvement test in one subject.

Delhi Public School Ruby Park principal Joyoti Chaudhuri said students there had shown scant interest in the improvement exam.

“In 2025, no one opted for improvement in Class X, while 40 out of 900 in Class XII opted for the test,” said Chaudhuri.

Kak of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy suspects that the second exam might be taken by those students who are “competitive in nature” and might think they can further improve their high scores.