Patna: The pass percentage of students from Bihar in the Class 10 examinations conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education has declined to 89.33% in 2026, continuing a downward trend observed over the past five years.
The figure marks a drop of 9.13 percentage points from the 2021 pass rate of 98.45%, which had been an all-time high during the pandemic period.
Consistent decline since 2021 peak
After the sharp rise in 2021, results have steadily fallen each year:
- 2022: 96.32%
- 2023: 94.21%
- 2024: 92.89%
- 2025: 91.78%
- 2026: 89.33%
The latest results also fall below last year’s performance, indicating a continued slide in outcomes.
Impact of exam reforms
The CBSE has introduced changes in the examination pattern in recent years, including a shift towards competency-based questions, which now account for around 50% of the paper.
The reform aims to reduce rote learning and encourage conceptual understanding among students.
However, despite these changes, overall pass percentages in Bihar have declined, suggesting that students may still be adapting to the new format.
Long-term fluctuation in results
Prior to the pandemic surge, Bihar’s pass percentage stood at 82.45% in 2019 and dropped to 70.54% in 2020.
The spike in 2021 was widely attributed to pandemic-related evaluation adjustments, after which results have normalised but trended downward.
Concerns over learning outcomes
The continued decline has raised concerns among educators about learning outcomes, exam preparedness and the transition to new assessment methods.
Experts say further analysis will be needed to assess whether the trend reflects stricter evaluation standards, changing exam patterns or broader gaps in foundational learning.
