CTET Exam Pattern 2026; Check Paper 1 & 2 Marking Scheme

CTET September 2026 exam pattern has 2 papers – Paper 1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 is for teaching Classes 1 to 5, while Paper 2 is for teaching Classes 6 to 8. Each paper carries 150 multiple-choice questions for a total of 150 marks. The duration for each Paper is 2.5 hours. There is no negative marking for wrong answers. CTET exam will be conducted in 27 different languages.

Until 2020, the exam was conducted offline but for 2021 and 2022, it was changed to Computer-Based Mode. However, since 2023 onwards, the pen-and-paper-based mode of the exam has been adopted again. CTET September 2026 will be conducted in offline mode. 

CTET September 2026 Exam Pattern for Paper 2

CTET September 2026 Exam Pattern: Structure and Content of Exam

CTET September 2026 Exam Pattern has MCQ-based questions with 4 alternatives for each question. The difficulty level and nature of questions vary for each paper. The details of CTET exam pattern and syllabus are given below.

CTET Paper 1 (Classes 1 to 5): Nature and Standard of Questions

• The questions from Child Development and Pedagogy will focus on the educational psychology of teaching and learning relevant to the age group of 6-11 years. They will focus on understanding the characteristics and needs of diverse learners, interaction with learners, and the attributes and qualities of a good facilitator of learning.
• The questions in Language I will focus on the proficiencies related to the medium of instruction, while those in Language II will be based on the elements of language, communication, and comprehension abilities.
• The questions from Mathematics and Environmental Studies will focus on the concepts, problem-solving abilities, and pedagogical understanding and applications of the subjects.
• The questions in Paper 1 will be based on the topics prescribed in the NCERT syllabus for Classes 1 to 5 but their difficulty standard as well as linkages, can be up to the secondary stage.

CTET Paper 2 (Classes 6 to 8): Nature and Standard of Questions

• The questions on Child Development and Pedagogy will focus on the educational psychology of teaching and learning, relevant to the age group of 11-14 years. They will focus on understanding the characteristics, needs, and psychology of diverse learners, interaction with learners, and the attributes and qualities of a good facilitator of learning.
• The questions from Language I will focus on the proficiencies related to the medium of instruction, while those from Language II will depend upon the elements of language, communication, and comprehension abilities.
• The questions from Mathematics and Science, and Social Studies/ Social Science will focus on the concepts, problem-solving abilities, and pedagogical understanding and applications of the subjects. They will be evenly distributed over different topics of the subject as prescribed in the NCERT syllabus for Classes 6-8.
• All the questions will be based on the NCERT syllabus of Classes 6-8 but their difficulty level and linkages can be up to the Senior Secondary Stage. You can check CTET Paper 2 Syllabus for a detailed list of topics.

CTET September 2026 Exam Pattern: Language Code

You need to choose 2 different languages for each of the papers and mention their codes while applying for the exam. You must attempt the questions in the chosen languages only, or your candidature will be cancelled. The codes for each of the language papers are listed below.