Delhi’s CBSE Class XII pass rate has fallen to its lowest level since before the pandemic, dropping to 91.97% this year from 95.18% last year. At first glance, the decline appears sharp. But the national capital is not an outlier. The fall closely mirrors the broader national trend, where pass percentages also dropped after several years shaped by pandemic-era assessment policies and unusually high scores. Even after the decline, Delhi continues to outperform the national average by a wide margin, and its two CBSE regions – Delhi-West and Delhi-East – remain among the country’s top-performing regions. The numbers suggest not a sudden drop in academic performance, but a return towards pre-pandemic patterns amid tighter and more standardised evaluation. To understand the dip, three factors matter: the national trend, the post-pandemic performance baseline, and the shift to digital evaluation. Together, these tell why Delhi’s lower pass percentage may not be cause for immediate alarm.…