For CBSE Class 12 students preparing for Mathematics exam 2027, one question often comes up as the board examinations approach: Is studying NCERT Mathematics enough to score 90 or above?
The short answer is that "NCERT should remain the starting point, but students targeting 90+ should not stop at simply reading the textbook and completing its exercises", says Ragi Ramu, a CBSE Class 12 Mathematics teacher from Vijayawada.
The CBSE Class 12 Mathematics syllabus for the 2026-27 academic session carries 80 marks for the written examination, with a three-hour duration. The board's prescribed syllabus and question-paper design should therefore remain the foundation of a student's preparation.
NCERT should not be treated as optional preparation material. Students should first ensure they understand the concepts, definitions, formulae, and standard methods covered in the prescribed textbook.
For many students, NCERT problems provide the first level of practice needed to understand how a concept is applied. Simply jumping to reference books without completing the textbook can leave gaps in basic understanding.
However, finishing NCERT is not the same as being examination-ready.
"A student may be able to solve familiar textbook questions but still struggle when the same concept appears in a different format or when several concepts have to be applied in one problem", says Shailaja Rani, Class 12 Mathematics teacher from Vijayawada.
1. NCERT exercises — but thoroughly
Students should begin by solving the NCERT exercises without looking at the solutions. They should pay attention to the method used, not just the final answer.
A useful approach is to mark questions that take longer to solve or require repeated revision. These can become part of a separate revision list.
2. Previous years' CBSE question papers
Once the textbook is reasonably well covered, students should move to previous years' board examination questions.
This helps students understand how familiar concepts can be tested through different question formats.
CBSE also maintains an official archive of previous-year Class XII question papers, which students can use for practice.
3. Sample question papers
Sample Question Papers (SQPs) should be an important part of the preparation strategy, particularly closer to the examination.
CBSE publishes sample question papers and marking schemes for Class XII subjects. The Mathematics SQP and marking scheme for the 2025-26 examination are available through the CBSE Academic website.
Students should not merely solve an SQP and check the score. They should also compare their solutions with the marking scheme and identify where marks could be lost.
4. Timed practice
Knowing how to solve a question and solving it within the examination time are two different skills.
Students targeting 90+ should periodically attempt complete Mathematics papers under examination-like conditions.
After every paper, they should analyse:
Which questions consumed too much time?
Which calculations resulted in mistakes?
Were steps missing from the solution?
Were formulae applied correctly?
Were marks lost because of presentation or incomplete working?
This analysis can be more valuable than simply counting the final marks.
5. Mixed-concept questions
Students should also practise questions that require them to identify the appropriate concept or method rather than questions where the chapter is obvious from the heading.
This becomes particularly important after completing individual chapters. A mixed practice session can reveal whether the student actually understands the concepts or has simply memorised particular solution patterns.
Students preparing for 90+ do not necessarily need to collect multiple reference books and solve thousands of questions.
More material does not automatically mean better preparation.
A better sequence is:
NCERT → previous-year questions → CBSE sample papers → timed full-length papers → targeted revision
Students who are struggling with basic concepts should spend more time strengthening NCERT-level understanding before moving to difficult problems.
"NCERT can provide the foundation, but relying on NCERT alone may not be the best strategy for a student specifically targeting 90+ marks", according to Ragi Ramu.
The objective should not be to abandon NCERT in favour of multiple reference books. Instead, students should use NCERT to build conceptual clarity and then add previous-year questions, official sample papers, marking-scheme analysis and timed practice.
CBSE itself provides additional practice questions based on the complete syllabus, making its official resources another useful source for students and teachers.
Ultimately, a 90+ score depends not only on how many questions a student has solved but also on whether they can recognise the right method, present the solution clearly and complete the paper accurately within the available time.
For students preparing for the 2026-27 board examination, the safest approach is therefore simple: master NCERT first, then practise the way the board examination actually demands.
