CBSE Class 12 results record dip in pass percentage, girls outperform boys again

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Wednesday released the Class 12 board examination results which recorded a slight dip in the overall pass percentage in 2026 in comparison to last year.

The national pass percentage stands at 85.20%, a drop of 3.19% from last year’s 88.39%. A total of 17,68,968 students appeared in the CBSE board examinations for Class 12.

Girls have once again outshone boys. “The pass rate for girls reached 88.86%, surpassing boys (82.13%) by a significant margin of 6.73%,” CBSE stated in its official release.

No merit list

The board has maintained its tradition of not releasing an official merit list to curb “unhealthy competition”, it stated.

Over 94,000 students scored above 90%, with more than 17,000 candidates securing marks above 95%.

Among the regions, Trivandrum leads the charts with a staggering 95.62% pass rate, followed closely by Chennai and Bengaluru. Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh has the lowest pass percentage at 72.43%.

Up to 1.63 lakh students have been placed in the Compartment category or those wishing to improve their scores in a single subject can appear for the supplementary exams scheduled for July 15, CBSE has stated.

The board will soon release the schedule for students who wish to apply for marks verification or a photocopy of their evaluated answer books.