All India Secondary School Examination
| Acronym | AISSE, SSE |
|---|---|
| Type | Pen-Paper-based standardized test |
| Administrator | Central Board of Secondary Education |
| Skills tested | Languages, Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Skill-based subjects |
| Purpose | Secondary School Completion (Class 10) |
| Duration | 3 hours per subject (Normal Subjects) 2 hours per subject (A few selected subjects) |
| Score range | 165-500 (600 if 6 subjects are taken) |
| Offered | Yearly, between February and April (Note: Practical Exams are usually conducted between December and February) |
| Restrictions on attempts | Once. In case of failure, supplementary or compartment exams are usually allowed. |
| Regions |
Foreign: (Most of the examinations are conducted by the CBSE with the assistance of the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Education of India, and the respective countries.) |
| Languages | Papers are offered either in Hindi or in English (based on the school being an english-medium school or a hindi-medium school) |
| Annual number of test takers | Registered Students(2025): 23,85,079
Appeared Students(2025): 23,71,939 Passed Students(2025): 22,21,636 Registered Students(2024): 21,86,940 Appeared Students(2024): 21,65,805 |
| Prerequisites | Intended for Class 10 students in CBSE-affiliated institutions |
| Fee | Usually paid by students, based on the subjects taken through the form given by CBSE |
| Used by | Senior Secondary Schools (for Class 11 admission) and higher education institutes |
| Qualification rate | 93.66%(2025) 93.60% (2024) |
| Website | www |
All India Secondary School Examination (AISSE), also known as Secondary School Examination (SSE) or the class 10th board exam, is a centralized public examination that students in schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education, primarily in India but also in other Indian-patterned schools affiliated to the CBSE across the world, taken at the end of Class 10. It is the equivalent of GCSE examinations taken in the United Kingdom.
The board conducts the examination during the period of February–March. Previously, it was held between March and April each year. In this exam, Mathematics, Science (Physics, Chemistry, and Biology combined), and Social Science (History, Geography, Political Science, and Economics combined) are compulsory. Students must also take any two languages, which include the official language of instruction and a foreign or scheduled language. Additionally, students may choose optional skill subjects such as Information Technology, Painting, Yoga, Music, Artificial Intelligence, and various other subjects.
Successful candidates are awarded the Secondary School Completion Certificate along with a statement of marks. Currently, they also receive a Migration Certificate and a Marks Statement cum Certificate, confirming that the candidate has completed secondary schooling and is eligible to pursue higher education. For the academic year 2016–17, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) reinstated the previous syllabus and marking scheme, with the complete syllabus assessed for the All India Secondary School Examination and marks out of 500. In India, there are state-level examinations conducted by various State Examination Boards, as well as central examinations such as CBSE and CISCE.