Specimen paper

It is ICSE's version of CBSE's sample paper. CISCE, the board that runs ICSE, puts it on its website with an answer guide.

What does the specimen paper promise?

The format, not the questions. The ICSE 2027 Maths specimen paper carries a note. It says the questions in the board exam "can be set from any part of the syllabus". But the format of the board paper "will remain the same" as the specimen. The note calls it "a practice tool".

For Maths in 2027, that format is 80 marks in three hours, plus 15 minutes to read. Section A has 40 marks, and every question must be done. Section B has 40 marks, and you choose any four questions.

How should you use it?

Sit it as a full paper, then check it against the marking guide attached at the end. A 2024 CISCE circular says the answer key should not be memorised. It is there to show the right approach. The Maths paper's instructions add that leaving out essential working "will result in loss of marks".

CISCE's own report on the 2025 ICSE Maths paper gives the same advice. It asks students to solve past papers "as well as the specimen paper". How the CBSE and ICSE papers compare sets out what else differs between the boards.

About the author

Mohit Sardana

Chief Architect

An engineer (B.Tech, Computer Science) with over 20 years of preparing students for entrance exams, including as Dean at FIITJEE and Vice-President at Aakash. He is the chief architect of the TRUpreBoards evaluation engine.

Mohit Sardana on LinkedIn