Mumbai: CBSE Class 12 results declared Tuesday saw a marginal rise in success rates both nationally and closer home in Maharashtra.In Maharashtra, part of the Pune region, the climb was steady.Of 34,874 students who took the exam, 31,468 cleared it, lifting the state’s success rate to 90.7%—its best since 2020. Nationally, the candidate pool swelled from 16.2 lakh in 2024 to 16.9 lakh this year, but the success rate ticked up to 88.4%, just a hair above last year’s 87.9%. However, while the overall pass percentage nudged forward, the race for top scores told a different tale. Fewer students—1.11 lakh compared to last year’s 1.16 lakh— broke the 90% barrier. Yet, those who soared beyond the rarefied 95% mark edged up to 24,867 from 24,068 last year.”This year, we introduced 50% competency-based questions, and we felt that led to a small reduction in students who scored more than 90%. While the overall success rate improved, we felt that the new format allowed students to understand concepts, but only those who could grasp them perfectly well managed to go past the top scores,” said Sanyam Bharadwaj, CBSE controller of examinations, explaining what made the difference this year.His observations found echoes in school corridors. Savita Yadav, principal of Kendriya Vidyalaya 2, Colaba, said, “Schools have secured 100% result. But students felt the evaluation was tough. Also, competency-based questions pulled down scores in subjects like maths and sciences. Commerce students, on the other hand, have done better.”At K V IIT Bombay, only 10 of 105 students broke through the 90% mark. But at The Somaiya School, 43% crossed that line, with several students even scoring a perfect 100 in individual subjects. H S Vashishtha, principal of DPS School, similarly said there was a marginal improvement in results this year compared to 2024. “Of the 305 students who appeared for Class 12 exams, 58% scored 90% and above, and one in five crossed the 95% mark.”Nitika Bajaj, head (senior secondary) at R N Podar School, said they have seen an increase in the number of high scorers, but for science students, physics pulled down scores a bit and 100% remained elusive in the subject. In many other subjects such as business studies, accounts and economics, students got 100%, she added. Across the country, one pattern held firm: Girls outshone boys once again. While the Pune region—comprising Maharashtra, Goa, Daman, and Diu —held steady in ninth position among the country’s 17 regions, it managed a small increase with a success rate of 90.9%, up from last year’s 89.8%.The number of students facing compartmental results grew this year though— nearly 1.3 lakh, or 7.6% of the total, up from 1.2 lakh last year. One group, though, stood out. Among Children with Special Needs, 5,668 appeared and 5,280 triumphed—a success rate of 93.15%. In a heartening flourish, 55 of them got above 95% and 290 crossed the 90% mark.