CBSE Class 10, 12 Marks Distribution 2027: Theory, Practical and Internal Assessment Marks by Subject

CBSE has published a subject-wise list of how the 100 marks of every Class 10 and Class 12 subject are split for the 2026-27 examinations (Board exams 2027). For example, Class 12 Physics, Chemistry and Biology are 70 theory + 30 practical, Class 12 Mathematics is 80 theory + 20 internal assessment (IA), and Class 10 Science, Social Science and Mathematics (Standard) are 80 theory + 20 IA. The circular, dated 5 November 2026, also fixes the practical, project and internal assessment window: 9 November to 19 December 2026 for winter-bound schools and 1 January to 13 February 2027 for regular-session schools.

What has CBSE announced in this circular?

CBSE’s Controller of Examinations has issued a circular dated 5 November 2026 with an enclosed list of subjects for Class 10 and Class 12, examination 2026-27. For each subject the list gives: the subject code and name, the theory duration in hours, maximum marks for theory, practical, project and internal assessment, whether an external examiner will be appointed for the practical or project work, whether practical answer books will be supplied by the Board, and the type of answer book for the theory paper.

The circular states that the maximum marks of each subject are 100, divided among theory and the practical, project and internal assessment components as per the list. The enclosure covers 83 subject entries for Class 10 and 121 subject entries for Class 12.

When are the practical, project and internal assessment in 2027?

The circular says the practical examinations and internal assessment for Class 10 and 12 for 2027 are scheduled as follows:

School type	Window
Winter-bound schools	9 November 2026 to 19 December 2026
Regular-session schools	1 January 2027 to 13 February 2027

A separate CBSE circular deals with the conduct of practical and project assessment in winter-bound schools. Schools upload the marks, so students should confirm the exact dates for their subjects with their own school.

How are the 100 marks split in Class 10?

In Class 10, most subjects are 80 marks theory and 20 marks internal assessment. A few subjects have a different split:

Class 10 subjects	Theory	Other component	Theory time
Languages (Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and others), English L&L, Mathematics (Standard), Science, Social Science	80	20 internal assessment	3 hours
Home Science	70	30 practical	3 hours
Elements of Business, Elements of Book Keeping and Accountancy	70	30 project	3 hours
National Cadet Corps (NCC)	70	30 internal assessment	3 hours
Computer Applications, Artificial Intelligence and other skill subjects (codes 401 to 422)	50	50 practical	2 hours
Carnatic and Hindustani music, Painting	30	50 practical + 20 IA	2 hours

The Mathematics (Standard) paper uses a 40-page graph answer book, while most other theory papers use a 32-page book.

How are the 100 marks split in Class 12?

Class 12 has more variety, because many subjects have a practical or project component:

Class 12 subjects	Theory	Other component	Theory time
Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Biotechnology, Geography, Psychology, Computer Science, Informatics Practice, Physical Education, Home Science	70	30 practical	3 hours
History, Political Science, Economics, Sociology, Business Studies, Accountancy	80	20 project	3 hours
Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, English Core, Hindi Core, languages	80	20 internal assessment	3 hours
Entrepreneurship	70	30 internal assessment	3 hours
Skill subjects such as Retail, Banking, Health Care (codes 801 to 816)	60	40 practical	3 hours
Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, Yoga	50	50 practical	2 hours
Hindustani music and dance, Painting, Sculpture	30	70 practical	2 hours

The list also names the 40-page graph book for Mathematics and drawing sheets for Engineering Graphics.

Who appoints the examiner for practicals?

The list has a column on whether an external examiner will be appointed for practical or project assessment. In Class 10 the answer is NO for every subject, so the school’s own teachers award the practical, project and IA marks. In Class 12 the answer is YES for subjects with a practical or project component such as Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Economics and Accountancy, and NO for subjects assessed by internal assessment only, such as Mathematics, English Core, Hindi Core and the language papers. The list has two exceptions to this pattern: Legal Studies (074), which has a 20-mark project, is marked NO, and Entrepreneurship (066), which has 30 marks of internal assessment, is marked YES.

A further column says whether practical answer books are supplied by the Board. In Class 12 these are supplied (YES) for practical subjects like Physics, Chemistry and Computer Science; for project subjects like History and Business Studies the answer is NO.

Why has CBSE issued this list?

The circular says schools sometimes make mistakes while uploading marks for practical, project and internal assessment. The list is meant to help smooth conduct of those assessments and of the theory examinations. CBSE gives six purposes: students and schools should know the maximum marks for each component; students should know the maximum time for each theory paper; teachers acting as internal or external examiners should know the maximum marks so that marks are uploaded without mistakes and no request is made to change uploaded marks; schools should know whether CBSE or the school appoints the examiner; the list helps schools arrange answer books for practical components; and it avoids wrong distribution of answer books in theory examinations.

What should students and schools do now?

Students should look up their own subject codes in the enclosed list and note how many marks come from theory and how many from practical, project or IA, since the school uploads the latter. Check the theory duration too, because 70- and 80-mark papers run 3 hours while 50- and 30-mark papers run 2 hours.

Schools should plan the practical, project and IA schedule inside the window that applies to them, make sure teachers know the maximum marks for each component before uploading, and arrange practical answer books where the Board does not supply them. Read the original circular and enclosure on cbse.gov.in under the Latest Updates; do not rely on third-party tables.

What does the circular not say?

The circular and its list do not give the theory exam dates; those are in the separate Class 10 and 12 date sheet. It does not state pass marks, grading, minimum marks per component, or the date by which schools must upload practical marks. It also does not say that any subject’s marks structure has changed from earlier years; it describes the 2026-27 structure and gives no comparison. Rows where a column is blank or merged in the printed table should be checked in the original PDF.