CBSE Class 12 Maths Exam Analysis 2026: Central Board of Secondary Education conducted the Class 12 Mathematics board examination on March 9 from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm at centres across India. Based on early responses from students and educators, the exam was largely described as moderate in difficulty, though some sections required deeper analytical thinking and longer calculations.
Students say long-answer section required more effort
Initial feedback from examinees suggested that while the paper largely followed the expected format and syllabus coverage, certain sections demanded more time. Many students highlighted that the long-answer portion of the paper was comparatively challenging because of multi-step solutions and detailed calculations.
According to Nilutpal Bora, PGT- Mathematics, Modern English School, Kahilipara, Guwahati, Assam, “The CBSE Class 12 Maths exam paper was well-balanced and aligned with students’ expectations. The paper focused on comprehension, critical thinking, and application-based questions,” according to Indian Express.
She added that the MCQs involved questions from matrix, determinants, differentiation, application of derivatives, integration, vector 3D, touching almost all the major topics from the syllabus, while questions related to assertion and reason in the MCQ section were easy. The MCQs remained consistent across all three sets.
According to her, Section B consisted of two-mark questions and was of moderate difficulty involving questions on inverse trigonometry, relation and function, vector 3 -D and differentiation involving parametric form.
Familiar concepts helped students in later sections
Teachers pointed out that students who had practised past board papers may have found certain parts of the exam manageable. Several questions in the middle and higher-mark sections were based on concepts that have frequently appeared in earlier examinations.
On the other hand, sections C and D featured questions from previous years’ papers (PYQs) on topics such as probability, integration, differentiation, sums using the properties of definite integration, and linear programming. “The three case-based questions were based on the application of integration, maxima and minima and probability based on Bayes theorems. These were of moderate difficulty and also aligned with previous PYQs,” said Bora, according to Indian Express.
On the other hand, Pankaj Kumar Gupta, HOD Mathematics, VidyaGyan School, Sitapur, claims that the exam was mostly easy, albeit a bit lengthy, with a few moderate questions. “All three sets were of the same difficulty with little variation in the types of questions. The questions were variations of NCERT exercise questions; a few were designed to trick the examinees, but upon their discovery, the questions themselves were easily solvable,” he added.
Bindu Harish, Senior Mathematics Teacher at Manav Rachna International School, Sector 46, Gurugram, asserted that the Mathematics paper was well-balanced and in accordance with the blueprint released by CBSE. Harish claimed, “There was a minor error in the question paper in Set 1 and Set 3, Question 33(A) had a missing bracket, and in Set 2, Question 35(A) also had a similar issue with a missing bracket,” according to Indian Express.
Harish further added, “Apart from this minor typographical error, the paper was flawless and aligned well with the CBSE examination pattern.”
Teachers point out minor issues in a few questions
Although the overall paper received positive feedback from educators, a few concerns were raised about specific questions that created confusion among some students.
Dr Alka Kapur, Modern Public School, Shalimar Bagh, claimed that a 5-mark question from the chapter on 3D Geometry involving the two-point form of the equation of a line was highlighted by students, as it is not explicitly covered in the NCERT textbook, leading to some confusion among examinees.
The Applied Mathematics exam was also considered balanced by most teachers, with a mix of conceptual and calculation-based questions that tested students’ understanding of multiple topics.
Tanmoy Das, PGT- Mathematics, Modern English School, Kahilipara, Guwahati, Assam, claims that the exam was balanced and fair with straightforward, long-answer and case-study sections. Das added that MCQs stood out for their quality, where students encountered a good level of challenge with questions effectively testing understanding of Matrices, Calculus, Financial Mathematics, and Probability.
“The 2-mark and 3-mark sections maintained an average difficulty level. While sections on Aptitude, Reasoning, Time Series, and EMI required standard application of formulas, the questions on Cramer’s Rule and Linear Programming (LPP) were noted as being particularly straightforward, allowing students to secure marks with ease,” said Das, according to Indian Express.
According to Chinmay Sharma (PGT), Mathematics at JAIN International Residential School (JIRS), Bengaluru, said, “The overall question paper was moderate in difficulty level. The paper focused on testing students’ conceptual understanding and application of mathematical concepts.
Section A and Section B consisted of straightforward questions that could be solved easily by students who had a clear understanding of the fundamental concepts and had practised standard problems from the syllabus.”
While Section C was moderate in difficulty, with a few questions involving slight variations, which required careful interpretation and conceptual clarity, said Sharma, adding that Section D was also moderate and aimed at assessing students’ analytical and application skills. The case study questions were comprehension-based and could be solved effectively once the context of the problem was properly understood.
Sharma also informed that question 19 was clearly out of the prescribed syllabus. “Additionally, for the question involving exponential calculations, the required exponential tables or values should have been provided separately to help students attempt the question more effectively,” he said.
“Questions from Matrices and Linear Programming were relatively straightforward, while Financial Mathematics and Probability Distribution required careful calculations and interpretation,” said Shivam Tyagi, Alok Das and Virendra Panchal at Silverline Prestige School, Ghaziabad, adding that many students described the paper as balanced and manageable, although some felt it was slightly lengthy due to calculation-based questions.