Top Mistakes Students Make During CBSE 10th, 12th Board Exam Preparation
Here are top mistakes students often make during their CBSE board exam preparation. Also, read the article below to know how to avoid them.
CBSE Board Exam Preparation 2026: The CBSE Board Exams 2026 Class 10, 12 will begin on February 17, 2026. The pressure to perform well in the exams is high, so to reduce it, students should focus on studying smart. One must know that it is important to understand what not to do in order to stop wasting their time and effort on unimportant tasks. Avoiding these mistakes can greatly improve their CBSE preparation and reduce unnecessary stress.
Here are some mistakes students often make during their CBSE board exam preparation. Also, read the article below to know how to avoid them.
- Mistake 1: Studying Without Schedule
- Mistake 2: Relying on Memorization
- Mistake 3: Not Referring to the updated CBSE Syllabus
- Mistake 4: Last-minute preparation
- Mistake 5: Neglecting Physical and Mental Health
Mistake 1: Studying Without Schedule
Students often begin their CBSE 10th, 12th preparation without structuring a proper study plan. Divide chapters into topics and spend time to cover every topic. Include daily goals and revision slots. And most importantly, stick to it.
There is no concept of good or bad marks in class 12 CBSE board. You must focus on your studies and work hard towards schieveing good score in the board exams. The concept of good/bad marks can be benchmarked by you depending on the stream/career you have chosen for yourself. If you wish to enter IIT and become an engineer, you must aim for 90+ percentage, so on and so forth.
Thus, set an aim for yourself and build a way to reach the goal and THAT shall be good enough for you.
All the best!
For Class 12th, it is considered to be strict. However, it is said that the checking done by evaluators is linient in comparison to the checking done by them in Class 9, 11 in their schools.
So, if u have covered the entire CBSE 12th syllabus and your preparation is on point, then you must not worry about the strict checking. Also, you can click on the link below to check the CBSE 12th important preparation points.
Top tips to score high in CBSE board exams
Top mistakes students make while preparing for CBSE 12th board exams
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Mistake 2: Relying on Memorization
While memorizing definitions and formulas is an important part of preparing for CBSE examinations, just depending on rote learning can be risky and not advisable, especially for subjects like Science and Mathematics.
It is important to understand the concepts so as to write in one's own style.
Mistake 3: Not Referring to the updated CBSE Syllabus
Students must refer to the updated syllabus to know the chapters, units that are required to be studies. This way, student do not waste time reading topics that will not be asked in the exam.
Students appearing for CBSE 10th Board Exam 2026 must understand the strategy to utilize CBSE date sheet 2026 for preparation of CBSE Board Exams 2026. CBSE 10th Phase 1 Board Exam 2026 will commence on February 17 and will conclude on March 9, 2026. Now, let us understand ways to use CBSE date sheet to commence CBSE Class 10 preparation 2026.
Prepare a subject-wise list for CBSE Class 10, 12
List down all the subjects of CBSE Class 10 Board Exam 2026. Students appearing for CBSE Class 10 Board Exam 2026 will commonly be appearing for English, Hindi, Science, Social Science and Mathematics.
List down CBSE Class 10, 12 syllabus and list of topics to cover
Students are advised to cover the complete CBSE 10th syllabus 2026. It is important for students to cover the whole syllabus to score well in board exams. Students must also not forget to make note of important topics to cover to avoid last minute hassles.
Know your subject-wise strengths and weakness
Prioritize the subjects you think you are weak in. Try to cover the whole syllabus using time management. It is important to cover weak subjects before the ones you feel confident about. Use the CBSE 10th timetable to know the number of preparatory days allotted to each subject. Try and cover lengthy subjects much prior to any other subjects.
Make Notes for Revision
While preparing for CBSE Board Exams 2025 Class 10, students are advised to make notes for all the subjects. The short notes prepared during the preparation process will help students in last-minute revisions.
Don’t forget to test yourself!
While preparing for CBSE Class 10 Board Exam 2026, students are advised to keep testing themselves. Practice as many CBSE Class 10 Sample Paper 2026. Use previous year question papers to revise and practice for CBSE board exams 2025. Practicing sample papers will not only help students understand their preparation level but also teach them time management while making under the CBSE 10th exam pattern.
No, you can easily clear the CBSE 10th board exams with hardwork and smart studying. Study effectively and remain attentive in classes. Be regular with your work. Divide the CBSE 10th syllabus in parts and work towards achieving the daily goal set by you.
And when there are 2-3 months left for the exams to begin, practice solving sample papers. Stick to NCERT and DO IT WELL. NCERT is enough to fetch you good marks.
And last but not the least the most important thing is have faith and confidence on yourself. Don't take these exams too seriously. No, I'm not denying the fact that “boards are important", boards are definitely important but don't pressurise yourself.
In CBSE 10th class, there are basically Maths, Science, Social studies, English and one other language subject. And it is compulsory to divide (unequally) your study hours for each and every subject.
Identify your weak subjects and try to allot maximum time to them and you will start to gain benefit in just few days.
Revise the notes on a regular basis, solve their practice questions or Question banks. In case you are self preparing without any help then here are some tips
- Science - Take any chapter and read it thoroughly from NCERT. Just read it first time, don't try to make any notes in the first time or mark some imp. points.
Then read it just one more time and this time mark important points, formulae, reaction, definitions and make short notes of them . They will help you a lot during your exam time . You will have no time to revise the whole NCERT book during your exam time.
Now coming to the practice part, obviously first solve all the questions from your NCERT text book and then download 5 previous year papers from CBSE official site and solve them or you can just buy some book which has previous year questions.
If you want to solve more variety of questions then download support material from edudel. CBSE releases a help book on edudel every year which contains short notes of each chapter and some good questions also.
If you face problem in numericals then prepare a separate numerical register and try to solve every numerical in your register that you come across whether it is from NCERT or from previous year or from any other book.
It is just more than enough to score 95+ marks in science. Make good notes, do previous years' papers and believe in yourself.
2. Maths : Now it need a good amount of practice from each chapter.
Again start from Ncert. Make a good base of concepts given it. And then solve questions from any reference book . You can consult maths book by Mr. M.L. Aggarwal or RD sharma.
Then you can solve previous year papers in last one or two month for gaining confidence and managing your time.
For other subjects, start from ncert and then take additional help from previous years and support materials .
So. all the very best for the upcoming exams and may you score well!
Mistake 4: Last-minute preparation
It is advisable to begin early and distribute the syllabus over the months. Early starters have the advantage of multiple revisions, better confidence, and less stress.
Mistake 5: Neglecting Physical and Mental Health
Students are advised to have a healthy routine. They must get 7–8 hours of sleep, eat nutritious food, and take short breaks to relax. A healthy body supports an alert and focused mind.
CBSE released the CBSE date sheet 2026 in November 2025 on the official website. The CBSE Board exams 2026 will be conducted between February 17 and April 5, 2026 in pen and paper format.
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