The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) released specimen question papers for  some new subjects and for subjects in which the syllabus has been revised for the 2026 ICSE (class X) and ISC (class XII) exams and classes IX and XI for the current academic session.

“In continuance of our efforts to foster strong teaching-learning practices that align with the imperatives of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP), CISCE is releasing the specimen question papers and answer keys in select subjects for ICSE Year 2026, ISC Year 2026, ICSE (Class IX) academic year 2025-2026 and ISC (Class XI) academic year 2025-2026 examinations,” the CISCE said in a circular sent to its affiliated schools on Thursday evening.

“Following the NEP 2020 recommendation, the weightage ascribed to the questions assessing competencies such as application, analysis, interpretation and evaluation is approximately 40 per cent for the year 2026 examination,” the council said.

The council had earlier announced that 40 percent weightage would be given to competency and application- based questions in 2026 ICSE and ISC exams. It said that the number of critical thinking questions would be gradually increased.

For ISC 2026, the Council released specimen question papers in sociology, business studies, mathematics and mass media and communication. The specimen question papers of some more subjects will be gradually released over the next few days, the council said.

For ICSE, the Council released the specimen questions for English language (letter writing, notice and email writing), history and civics, geography, math, physics, chemistry, biology, basic data entry operator, dietetic aide, cashier, early years physical activity facilitator, and auto service technician.

The Council introduced a few new subjects including modern English and applied mathematics for students appearing for 2027 ISC exam. The Class XI batch had to choose between English and modern English and mathematics and applied mathematics.

For the 2025 Class XI batch the council has published the specimen papers of the two new subjects- modern English and applied mathematics. The syllabus of subjects like English and mathematics have been revised. The specimen questions of these two subjects has been also published.

The specimen questions of Class XI artificial intelligence and robotics which are new subjects will be released on August 8, the Council said.

The specimen papers has been designed to ensure all stakeholders understand the structure of the questions better and they should be used as “practice tool”.

“The intent is to provide a realistic purview of the format of the board examination question paper and familiarise the teaching-learning community with the number of sections and questions, types of questions, marks allocated, choices offered, and competencies assessed in the subject,” the Council said.

The CISCE, however, asked the schools to note that the specimen questions may not replicate the papers of the board examinations as individual questions may vary.