The ICSE 10th Grading System follows a nine-point grading method. The grades range from 1 to 9, where students must score between 9-100 to score the highest grade.
ICSE Grading System 2025: Released and formulated by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), the ICSE 10th grading system 2025 follows a nine-point grading method. While grades ranging between 1 and 2 mean an excellent performance and score in the ICSE Board exam 2025, the lowest grades, 8 and 9, are allotted to students who fail to obtain the required passing marks.
Furthermore, students need to obtain a minimum of 33% marks in all the subjects to qualify for the next academic level. Students who fail to do so can appear for the ICSE Board improvement exam, scheduled to be conducted in July 2025 (tentatively).
Students can read more about the ICSE grading system 2025 in this article.
ICSE Grading System 2025: Overview
The ICSE grading system 2025 is designed to allocate grade points to students depending on their score in the final examination. The grades are allotted for both internals/practicals and final examinations, where 1 is the highest grade, and 9 is the lowest. The detailed grading patterns for the internal and external ICSE 10th exams are tabulated below.
External Exam Grading System
The grading method followed for the ICSE 10th external exams is based on numbers. Students with excellent academic performance are given grade 1, and those with poor performance are allotted grade 9. Students can refer to the table below for detailed information.
| Grade | Level |
| 1 | Excellent |
| 2 | Excellent |
| 3 | Pass (with credit) |
| 4 | Pass (with credit) |
| 5 | Pass (with credit) |
| 6 | Pass |
| 7 | Pass |
| 8 | Fail |
| 9 | Fail |
Internal Exam Grading System
CISCE follows a grading method for the internal exams, where A is the highest grade, and E is the lowest. Candidates are provided grades based on their performance in the exams.
| Grade | Standard |
| A | Very Good |
| B | Good |
| C | Satisfactory |
| D | Fair |
| E | Fail |
Also Read: How to Calculate ICSE Percentage for Class 10?
Percentage in the ICSE Grading System 2025
The candidates can calculate the percentages from the marks mentioned in the mark sheet. However, a distinction percentage is provided to students who score between 90-100 and pass percentage candidates who have marks between 50-59.
The process to calculate is mentioned below.
- Add up the marks for all the 5 core subjects.
- Then, divide the sum with the total number of subjects to get the percentage.
| Percentage | Division |
| 90-100% | Distinction Percentage |
| 75-89% | First Division |
| 60-74% | Second Division |
| 50-59% | Pass |
Also Read: ICSE Passing Marks for Class 10 2025
ICSE 10th Marking Scheme 2025
The CISCE has categorised the subjects into three groups, where students must opt for the compulsory subjects in Group 1, two subjects from Group 2 and 1 from Group 1. Out of the total 100 marks, 80 are allocated to the external exams and 20 to the internals for the group 1 and 2 subjects.
Meanwhile, for the group of 3 additional subjects, the 100 marks are bifurcated into 50 for external and internal exams, respectively. The marking scheme is tabulated below for students’ reference.
| Subjects | Marks for External Examination | Marks for Internal Assessment |
| GROUP I: (Compulsory) | ||
| English | 80 | 20 |
| A Second Language (one/two) | 80 | 20 |
| History, Civics, and Geography | 80 | 20 |
| GROUP II: (Any two/three of the following subjects) | ||
| Mathematics | 80 | 20 |
| Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology) | 80 | 20 |
| Economics | 80 | 20 |
| Commercial Studies | 80 | 20 |
| A Modern Foreign Language | 80 | 20 |
| A Classical Language | 80 | 20 |
| Environmental Science | 80 | 20 |
| GROUP III: (Any one of the following subjects) | ||
| Computer Applications | 50 | 50 |
| Economic Applications | 50 | 50 |
| Commercial Applications | 50 | 50 |
| Art | 50 | 50 |
| Performing Arts | 50 | 50 |
| Home Science | 50 | 50 |
| Cookery | 50 | 50 |
| Fashion Designing | 50 | 50 |
| Physical Education | 50 | 50 |
| Yoga | 50 | 50 |
| Technical Drawing Applications | 50 | 50 |
| Environmental Applications | 50 | 50 |
| A Modern Foreign Language | 50 | 50 |
Also Read: How to Obtain the ICSE Marksheet?
ICSE 10th Passing Marks
While it is important to know the ICSE grading system 2025, it is equally important to read about the ICSE 10th passing marks. Students can read about the same below.
- Students must secure a minimum of 33% to pass the exams.
- The passing percentage is required for every subject, including external and internal exams.
- A passing certificate is given to students who clear the board exams.
Also Read: ICSE Syllabus for Class 10 2025-25
ICSE 10th Compartment Exams 2025
Students are advised to appear for the ICSE compartment exam 2025 if they fail to obtain the minimum required grade to pass in the ICSE grading system 2025. The supplementary exams are conducted offline, and students can register for them from the official portal.
- The ICSE compartment exams are conducted for students who fail to meet the passing marks.
- The CISCE board authorities conduct the exams, and students must appear for the exams online.
- The registration is done through the official web portal, cisce.org.
- Students must be aware that the results obtained in the supplementary exams are considered final, and the board will not allow for any changes.
- The compartment exams are expected to be held by July 2025, and the results will be released by August 2025 (tentatively).
ICSE 10th Exam Pattern 2025
The ICSE 10th exams consist of subjects classified into groups 1, 2 and 3. The exams are conducted for 100 marks, where 80 are assigned to external and 20 to internal exams.
Moreover, students must have a thorough knowledge of the ICSE 10th Exam Pattern 2025 to adequately prepare and score well in the exams.
| Particulars | Details |
| Mode of exam | Offline |
| Exam duration | 3 hours |
| Core subjects | English, Second Language, Mathematics, Science and Social Science |
| Question paper pattern | Compulsory types questions |
| Short answer type questions | |
| Total marks | 100 (Theory - 80 and Practical - 20) |
| Passing marks | 33 per cent in each subject |
| Negative marking | No |
Further, the list of subjects under all the groups is illustrated below.
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