How to prepare for ICSE, ISC Board Exams 2026: Check quick prep tips to score above 90 percent
Shiksha.com talked to some of the previous years' CISCE students who scored well in ICSE, ISC Board Exams and compiled some effective prep tips to help students score above 90% in ICSE, ISC board exams 2026.
ISC board exams 2026 will likely be conducted between February 12 and April 3, 2026, while ICSE Board Exams 2026 Class 10 are expected to be conducted between February 21 and March 28, 2026. The exams are held in pen and paper format. The time table mentions the exam dates, days, and timings for all subjects. Once released, students preparing to appear for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) Class 10 and Indian School Certificate (ISC) Class 12 board exams 2026 can check the official ICSE, ISC Board Exams 2026 dates on the official website.
Quick Preparation Tips for ICSE, ISC Board Exams 2026
ICSE, ISC exam dates 2026 will be out soon. With such short notice, it is important for Class 10, 12 students to prepare a study plan in order to score well in ICSE, ISC board exams 2026. Shiksha.com talked to some of the previous years' CISCE students who scored well in ICSE, ISC Board Exams and compiled some effective prep tips to help students score above 90% in ICSE, ISC board exams 2026.
Students must note that in order to pass ICSE Board Exams 2026, students must score a minimum of 35 per cent in aggregate and per subject to pass. The official websites reads, “STATEMENT OF MARKS will be issued to all students who appeared for the examination. The pass marks for each subject is 35%.”
Know ICSE, ISC Board Exams 2026 Syllabus to Understand CISCE Exam Pattern
According to the latest notification, CISCE has released ICSE Class 10 Syllabus 2025-26 and ISC Class 12 Syllabus 2025-26.
Ekansh Rathi, an ISC student from Don Bosco School, Kolkata, says that it is important for students to know the complete syllabus and the changes made by the Board to understand the paper pattern. The ICSE ISC syllabus includes various units and chapters to be covered. So, set a daily target and cover the subject-wise syllabus for ICSE, ISC exams. “Even for ICSE exams, I made subject-wise division and made sure that I go through the whole syllabus thoroughly before picking up one subject at a time.” To fetch confidence, do not begin with lengthy units; rather, stick to short ones. This would help you cover more in less time and help you score well, Rathi added.
ICSE 10th, ISC 12th Specimen Paper is the Key!
Preparing for ICSE, ISC board exams may not be a piece of cake, but it isn’t that tough to crack, says Tanzeela Fahim, an ex-student from Loreto Day School, Dharamtala, Kolkata. She said, “When we sat for ICSE, ISC board exams, the scenario was different. Today, CISCE has divided the board exams into two semesters. Students are going to appear for semester 2 ICSE and ISC theory exams next month. The syllabus has been reduced. However, the one thing that hasn’t changed is practicing specimen papers. The syllabus has been reduced, but there is a lot that students have been studying for years. Students must focus on the syllabus that has been common over the years and practice previous year ICSE, ISC question papers.”
“Practicing ICSE, ISC specimen papers helped me a lot to score well. CISCE has a pattern of repeating questions after every few years and I tracked this while preparing for ICSE, ISC exams. I can blindly credit my 90 per cent to the previous year's question papers. As, it helped me understand the ICSE, ISC marking scheme, paper pattern well,” Tanzeela added.
For Class 10th, it is considered to be strict. However, it is said that the checking done by evaluators is lenient in comparison to the checking done by them in Class 9 in their schools.
So, if u have covered the entire ICSE 10th syllabus and your preparation is on point, then you must not worry about the strict checking.
According to ISC students who appeared for the ISC board exam last year, the Economics and mathematics subjects appeared to have been the toughest papers for both the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and the Indian School Certificate (ISC) students.
ICSE Board Exams are usually on the easier side of the spectrum but it totally depends on your preparation level and how the board is going to set the paper. It also depends on the checking. You have to prepare well in your board exams for scoring well.
It is advised that you complete the ICSE syllabus 2026 and know the exam pattern well. You must also solve the previous years' question papers for better preparation of the exam.
Prepare a Study Plan
It’s not just about ICSE, ISC Board Exams, but for any board exam or competitive exam, a study plan is a must, says Soumit Das, a tuition teacher who has over 7 years’ of experience preparing CISCE Class 10, 12 students for board exams. “Schools have been conducting classes online since March 2020. ICSE, ISC board exam preparation with a study plan helped my students a lot in scoring above 90 per cent. Students often ask me, ‘How to score more than 90 per cent in ICSE, ISC Board Exams?’ and there is only one answer that I give, which is ‘a thoughtful study plan’. It helps in allotting enough time to tough subjects and a little less to the ones that seem a bit easy,” Das added.
“Mix it up with short breaks, power naps, and memory games for more effective learning,” he added.
Prepare Short Notes for Effective Learning
Do target-based learning. Make notes of important formulas and convert long answers into pointers. All this will help you in last-minute preparation, says Amit Kumar, a 2019 ISC student. “You can always go back to the notes and recall. Pointers will help you formulate long answers. Do not just mug up the sentences but understand the theory behind it, this will help you remember the answers for a longer period of time,” Kumar added.
Relax!
Preparing for board exams often becomes intimidating. Students tend to prepare packed study plans and try to mug up the whole syllabus in one night. However, all this hardly works. A proper study plan along with some time to relax your brain, is a must to stay focused during board exam preparation. Shreya Jain, a psychology major from Kirori Mal College, DU, says that I often give counseling to students appearing for board exams. Most often, they face issues such as lack of confidence, lack of concentration, sleeplessness, and more. This happens when students push too hard to cover the whole syllabus in a short matter of time or get intimidated by the preparation of their friends or classmates.
“It is important to prepare well but it is more important to take care of one's own well-being. Parents and teachers must make sure that students take out time to relax in order to relieve the pressure to score well. Being ambitious and aspiring to score above 90 per cent in board exams is good. But, putting children under pressure to score more than their friends or siblings often takes a toll on their mind as well as health,” Shreya added.
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Comments
(1)
a year ago
CISCE is going to increase questions that require understanding and critical thinking in ICSE and ISC Exams 2026. The aim is to enable students to go beyond rote learning & memorisation of facts and move towards the development of conceptual understanding.
Thus, students are advised to practise and get their basics clear so that they are able to attempt such questions without any problem.