CTET Exam Pattern 2026

CTET Exam Pattern

Each CTET paper has 150 multiple-choice questions for 150 marks. Every question carries 1 mark and there is no negative marking. Each paper lasts 2 hours 30 minutes. The February 2026 session was held in pen-and-paper (OMR) mode, with OMR response sheets released with the answer key. Check your December 2026 admit card for the exact mode and timing.

Paper I (Classes 1 to 5)

Subject	Questions	Marks
Child Development and Pedagogy	30	30
Language I (compulsory)	30	30
Language II (compulsory)	30	30
Mathematics	30	30
Environmental Studies	30	30
Total	150	150

Paper II (Classes 6 to 8)

Subject	Questions	Marks
Child Development and Pedagogy (compulsory)	30	30
Language I (compulsory)	30	30
Language II (compulsory)	30	30
Mathematics and Science (for Maths/Science teachers) or Social Studies/Social Science (for Social Studies teachers)	60	60
Total	150	150

Shift timings (usual CTET schedule)

Paper	Shift	Time
Paper II	Morning	9:30 am – 12:00 noon
Paper I	Evening	2:30 pm – 5:00 pm

These timings were announced for the 6 September 2026 date. The paper-wise schedule for 12–13 December 2026 had not been published in the sources we checked.

Points to note

Language I and Language II must be different languages, chosen from the list in the bulletin.
Questions on pedagogy (how to teach) appear inside every subject, not only in Child Development.
Qualifying mark is 60% (90 out of 150), with a concession to 55% for SC/ST/OBC/PwD.

Source: Careers360 (CTET notification and pattern), Careers360 News (CTET exam date out), Careers360 News (CTET Sept 2026 notification), Careers360 News (CTET Feb 2026 answer key), CBSE Guidance Web (CTET Sept 2026 notification summary)

CTET Exam Pattern 2026