- By Ridam Sharma
- Wed, 26 Feb 2025 10:49 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
List Of Toughest Board Exams In India: As claimed by students across India there are big differences in how hard board exams can be. This creates confusion in fairly assessing students' abilities and also highlights the need for a standardised evaluation system. Such a system would ensure that every student has equal opportunities, no matter where they are studying. India's education system is large and diverse, with different boards of education and different levels of difficulties in their exams. Some of these board exams have a reputation for being challenging and tougher than the rest. India has several boards of education at the national and state levels. In this article, we have curated the list of the most difficult board exams in India.
Which are the most prominent boards in India?
CBSE and ICSE are the most popular board exams in India, let’s learn more about them below:
- Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE): This is a national-level board, which consists of a systematic syllabus. It is the most prominent board exam at the national level.
- Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE): Famous for its detailed syllabus, ICSE focuses on an in-depth understanding of the syllabus and the all-round development of students.
- State Boards: Every state has a board, e.g., the Maharashtra State Board and the Tripura Board, which can differ considerably in difficulty and curriculum as per the population literacy rate and many other factors.
Which are the toughest Board Exams in India?
According to the latest NCERT PARAKH report, certain state boards are identified as the most challenging based on the proportion of difficult questions featured in their exams. currently, the Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) is the toughest board exam in India. To grab in-depth knowledge of the toughest birds, below is a list of the top 5 toughest boards in India:
| Name of the Board | Percentage of tough questions |
| Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) | 66.60% |
| Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) | 53.57% |
| Goa Board | 44.66% |
| Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education (CGBSE) | 44.44% |
| West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) | 33.33% |
- Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE): Tripura Board of Secondary Education (TBSE) has the highest rate of hard questions. The 66.60% of questions in its examination are rated as difficult. To clear the exam from TBSE, the students need to showcase deeper comprehension and analytical capabilities.
- Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE): The second toughest board in India is the Maharashtra State Board. This board offers nearly 53.57% of the questions in hard form, with careful practice and reasoning capability, students may clear the exam effortlessly.
- Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education: With approximately 44.66% tough questions, the Goa board also puts students to the test by making them think critically and use their knowledge practically.
- Chhattisgarh Board of Secondary Education (CGBSE): Like Goa, this board also has a high percentage of difficult questions at 44.44%, which challenges students across the state to use their understanding and analytical skills.
- West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE): This board comes under the list of the top five toughest boards in the country with 33.33% of tough questions, which emphasise deep subject knowledge.
Where does CBSE stand?
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is famously known among India's most widely accepted boards but does not place in the toughest in recent assessments. CBSE examinations are formally organised and formalised but usually include fewer numbers of difficult questions than the described state boards above. The curriculum offered by the CBSE aims to make students more prepared to pass competitive tests but is not as difficult as that presented by the toughest state boards in India.
Where does the ICSE Board stand?
The ICSE board is often considered to be academically challenging because of its extensive syllabus that covers literature and a wide range of subjects. It might not have been featured on the list of the toughest boards based on hard question percentages, however, the ICSE board is one of the most challenging boards because of its broad content coverage and main focus on analytical ability.