2026 Boards: Why Solving PYQs (Past Year Questions) Is the Smartest Strategy?

Board exams feel massive. You've got thick textbooks staring at you, your syllabus looks never-ending, and everyone around you is either panicking or pretending they're not panicking. And somewhere in all this chaos, someone told you to "solve PYQs," and you're wondering if it's actually worth your time or just another thing adults say.

Solving Past Year Questions is probably the smartest move you can make for your 2026 boards. Not because we're saying it, but because it actually works. Let's see why.

What Students Usually Do (And Why It Doesn't Always Work)

Most students follow one of these patterns:

The Highlighter Hero: You read the textbook, highlight everything that seems important (which ends up being half the book), and hope it sticks. Spoiler: it doesn't.
The Note-Making Machine: You make beautiful notes, spend hours perfecting them, but when exam time comes, you realize you spent more time making notes than actually learning.
The Last-Minute Crammer: You think you'll remember everything if you just read it enough times before the exam. Then you enter the exam hall and your mind goes blank.

None of these strategies is bad. They're just incomplete. And that's where PYQs come in.

Why PYQs Are Actually Game-Changers

1. You See What Actually Matters

Your textbook has 300 pages. Your exam paper? Maybe 10-12 questions. PYQs show you exactly what topics show up again and again. When you solve papers from the last 5-10 years, you'll notice patterns. Some chapters get 2 questions every single year. Some topics barely show up.

This doesn't mean you skip chapters, but it means you know where to focus your energy.

2. You Understand How Questions Are Asked

There's a huge difference between knowing a topic and knowing how to answer a question on that topic. Boards don't ask "Tell me everything about photosynthesis." They ask specific things in specific ways. PYQs teach you the language of your exam.

3. You Stop Getting Surprised

The worst feeling is seeing a question pattern in the exam that you've never practiced. When you solve PYQs regularly, you've already seen most question types. You walk into the exam confident because nothing feels completely new.

4. You Can Actually Track Your Preparation

When you just read and re-read, you can't tell if you're actually ready. But when you solve a 2023 or 2024 paper and score well, you know you're on the right track. It's real feedback, not just a feeling.

How to Actually Use PYQs

Okay, so you're convinced. Now what?

Step 1: Finish at least one reading of each chapter first. Don't jump into PYQs on day one. Get familiar with your content first.

Step 2: Start with topic-wise PYQs, not full papers. If you just finished the chapter on Electricity, solve all the Electricity questions from the past 5 years. This helps you practice while the chapter is still fresh.

Step 3: Time yourself (but not at first). In the beginning, take your time and focus on getting answers right. As you get better, start timing yourself to build speed.

Step 4: Don't just solve, review. After solving, check your answers properly. Understand where you went wrong. If you got something right by fluke, that counts as wrong too.

Step 5: Make a mistake tracker. Keep a simple notebook where you write down topics you're struggling with. These are your weak spots; come back to them.

Step 6: In the last month, solve full papers. Now you practice like it's the real exam. 3 hours, no phone, no breaks. This builds your stamina.

Conclusion

Will PYQs alone get you 95%? No. You still need to understand your concepts, make notes, and study properly. But will PYQs take you from 70% to 85% or from 80% to 92%? Absolutely.

Studying your textbook is like practicing cricket in the nets. Solving PYQs is like playing an actual match. You need both.

The students who do really well in boards aren't necessarily the smartest ones; they're the ones who understood what the exam wants and prepared accordingly. PYQs show you exactly what the exam wants.

So, start now. Start small. Do 5 questions today. Then 10 tomorrow. Make it a habit.

Your board exam is a paper with a pattern, and PYQs help you crack that pattern. And once you start seeing the difference in your confidence and scores, you'll wonder why you didn't start earlier.