3 min readNew DelhiJun 6, 2026 09:43 AM IST
First published on: Jun 5, 2026 at 10:51 AM IST
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) on Thursday issued a clarification regarding the totaling of marks in Class 12 board examinations after receiving queries from students who noticed apparent discrepancies between marks shown on their scanned answer scripts and their final scores.
In a statement, CBSE said some students who had obtained copies of their evaluated answer books raised concerns about differences between the calculation sheet attached to the answer script and the total marks reflected in their results.
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The board explained that many question papers contain internal choices, allowing students to answer one of multiple alternatives. However, some students attempt more questions than required.
“As a matter of policy, CBSE has always taken the best obtained marks by the candidate and mentioned the other question/subpart attempted as ‘Over Attempt’,” the board said.
According to CBSE, when a student answers more than the required number of questions, the system automatically uses the higher score among the alternative responses to calculate the final result. Marks that are not included in the calculation are marked with an asterisk (*) and designated as omitted from totaling.
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To illustrate the process, the board cited an example from a Chemistry answer script. In Question 31, students were required to attempt either part (a) or part (b). The candidate scored three marks in Question 31(a) and two marks in Question 31(b). Since the higher score was obtained in Question 31(a), those three marks were included in the total, while the marks awarded for Question 31(b) were excluded and marked with an asterisk.
As a result, the candidate’s total score was calculated as 43.5, which was then rounded off to 44 marks.
CBSE urged students to carefully check the asterisk marks and accompanying footnotes before calculating their totals manually from the answer-book calculation sheet.
“Hence, all candidates are requested to see the asterisk mark and the footnote given before calculating the total marks obtained and shown on the calculation sheet,” the board said.
The clarification by the board comes amid ongoing scrutiny of Class 12 evaluation and result-processing systems, with several students seeking copies of their answer books and applying for mark verification following the declaration of results in May.
CBSE clarifies answer-book totaling process, says best score is counted in over-attempt cases. (Express photo/ representational) 
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