In Class 9, a shaky foundation is survivable. The chapters are short, the questions sit close to the solved examples, and a good memory covers for a lot. In Class 10 that stops working.
Quadratic equations assume fluent factorisation. Trigonometric identities assume confident handling of algebraic fractions. Heights and distances assume a student can read a situation and pick the right ratio unprompted. None of these are Class 10 skills — they are Class 7 and Class 8 skills used at Class 10 speed, and the syllabus does not pause to check they are in place. So when a child who scored 88 in Class 9 brings home 61 in the first term, the chapter on the paper is rarely the cause.
I am Swastik Sahal. I have taught maths for 13+ years, and at Ankuram Tuition Centre in Jubilee Hills I teach every batch myself, 3 to 5 students, in person or on Zoom. There is no second teacher.
The pattern is consistent enough that I now expect it. A student loses marks in quadratic equations, so the parent looks for help with quadratic equations. But the student can state the formula, can follow a worked solution, and still cannot produce one alone. That is a Class 7 or Class 8 problem that travelled forward quietly because nothing until now demanded it. Algebra, geometry and trigonometry carry 47 of the 80 board marks between them, and all three rest on manipulation learned years earlier: signs, brackets, fractions, ratio.
The usual response makes it worse. More practice on the current chapter is more repetitions of the same broken step: a student who drops signs in transposition, given fifty more quadratics, drops signs fifty more times. Practice builds fluency, not a concept that was never there. In a batch of 3 to 5 there is nowhere to hide — I see every student's working on every question, and the error pattern is usually visible within two sessions.
A Class 10 answer I see regularly. Chapter 4, Quadratic Equations.
Solve 2x² − 5x − 3 = 0 by factorisation.
Marked in school: a cross against the second root, one mark cut, “check signs” in the margin.
Start with what is right. Splitting the middle term, recognising that −5x must become −6x + x because the product of 2 and −3 is −6, is the step Class 10 students most often get wrong. It is perfect here, as is the grouping and the factorisation: the whole Class 10 method is intact. The answer collapses on the last line, where 2x + 1 = 0 becomes x = 1/2 rather than x = −1/2. A Class 10 chapter, failed at a Class 7 step.
I stop the quadratics and give three equations on their own: 2x + 1 = 0, 3x + 7 = 0, and 4 − x = 0. Two minutes, and it decides everything after. If all three come out right, the sign was lost under load: working memory was full of the factorisation and the easy step got dropped. If the student writes x = 1/2 again, transposition with negative numbers is not secure, and the same error will surface in coordinate geometry, in arithmetic progressions and in every identity in Chapter 8.
Two students, identical answer sheets, opposite treatment. The first needs the hard step made automatic so attention is free for the easy one. The second needs to stop Class 10 quadratics and rebuild transposition from the Class 8 level before returning to Chapter 4. Handing that student more quadratic equations is the worst available choice.
This is the difference between marking an answer wrong and understanding why the error occurred.
1. Find where the difficulty actually starts. Not the chapter your child is stuck on, the concept sitting underneath it.
2. Separate careless error from conceptual gap. On a marked paper these look identical and need opposite responses. It is more often the second than parents expect.
3. Trace the problem backwards. Class 10 trouble with quadratics often begins with incomplete factorisation in Class 8; weak identities begin with algebraic fractions in Class 7.
4. Rebuild the missing concept with a few carefully chosen questions rather than thirty worksheets. Repair one thing; do not bury the student in practice.
5. Return to the current syllabus, in the CBSE format and question style, once the foundation holds.
6. Check independent performance. Following my explanation is not the same as reproducing the method alone in an exam hall.
The board paper carries 80 marks, with 20 marks of internal assessment: fourteen chapters across seven units, and Constructions is no longer in the Geometry unit. Here is where the marks sit, and where my students lose them.
| Unit | Marks | Chapters | Where marks are usually lost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number Systems | 6 | Real Numbers | Irrationality proofs written as arithmetic. The argument carries the marks. |
| Algebra | 20 | Polynomials; Pair of Linear Equations in Two Variables; Quadratic Equations; Arithmetic Progressions | Signs in transposition, middle-term splitting, and confusing an AP's nth term with the sum of n terms. |
| Coordinate Geometry | 6 | Coordinate Geometry | Section formula used with the ratio reversed. |
| Geometry | 15 | Triangles; Circles | Similarity quoted without stating the correspondence. Tangent proofs that assume the right angle instead of justifying it. |
| Trigonometry | 12 | Introduction to Trigonometry; Some Applications of Trigonometry | Identities attacked from both sides at once. Heights and distances ruined by a wrong diagram. |
| Mensuration | 10 | Areas Related to Circles; Surface Areas and Volumes | Combined solids where a surface is counted twice, or a hidden circular face included. |
| Statistics and Probability | 11 | Statistics; Probability | Step-deviation applied mechanically. Clean arithmetic on a wrongly written sample space. |
Standard (041) and Basic (241) share the syllabus; the papers differ in difficulty and in how much weight sits on application. If that choice is still open, I have set out how to think about it in Basic vs Standard Maths in Class 10 CBSE.
One planning point matters this year. Class 10 now has two board sittings: a compulsory one in February and March, and an optional one in May for improvement, with the better score counting. That second window is only worth something if the months in between go on the gaps the first paper exposed.
Step 1 — Book. Sixty minutes, at Jubilee Hills or on Zoom. I ask for the class, the board and the school.
Step 2 — Assess. I re-teach a concept your child has already covered in school. Because the material is not new, you can judge the teaching on familiar ground, and I can watch how your child thinks about something they believe they already know. Most of what is useful comes from that second part.
Step 3 — Report and call. A written report naming the specific gaps, where they most likely formed, and what I would teach first. Then we discuss whether this is the right fit.
The fee is ₹750 for Classes 6 to 10 and ₹1,000 for Classes 11 and 12. It is standalone and is not adjusted against tuition.
A free demo shows how a teacher delivers a prepared lesson. It is a performance, and a well-rehearsed one tells you very little about your own child. The diagnostic shows how your child thinks, and then I teach them using their own mistakes as the material.
Illustrative anonymised example. Every student's assessment and recommendation are different.
| Parent's stated concern | Marks fell from 88 in Class 9 to 61 in the Class 10 first term |
| Class and board | Class 10 CBSE, Standard Maths |
| Current topic difficulty | Quadratic equations; coordinate geometry |
| Strengths observed | Fluent arithmetic; attempts every question rather than leaving blanks |
| Error pattern identified | Sign errors in transposition; brackets expanded on the first term only |
| Prerequisite gap | Distributive property and directed numbers, Class 7 to 8 level |
| Likely origin | Class 7, when algebraic expressions were introduced |
| Immediate teaching priority | Bracket expansion and sign handling, before quadratics |
| Recommended starting level | Class 8 algebraic expressions, then forward into Class 10 |
| Suggested format | 3 sessions a week, batch of 4, in person |
| Review point | Re-assess at 6 weeks, on independent solving rather than familiarity |
Batches are 3 to 5 students, grouped by class and board. Sessions run in person at Jubilee Hills, on Zoom with a digital whiteboard, or a mix of the two. I have compared the formats in online versus offline tuition for Class 10.
Most Class 10 students take 4, 6 or 8 hours a week. For CBSE the monthly fee per student is ₹6,000 for 4 hours a week, ₹8,500 for 6 hours and ₹11,000 for 8 hours. Ankuram has 516 parent reviews at 4.8 stars.
Usually, though it depends how far back the gaps go and how much time is left. Weak in maths nearly always means specific missing pieces rather than absent ability, and the diagnostic tells us which pieces.
No. The diagnostic is standalone — it covers the assessment, the teaching session and the written report. This way I can give a completely honest evaluation with no obligation on either side.
It depends where the gaps are, which is exactly what the diagnostic reveals. I have seen students make real progress in three to four months when the work is focused on the right areas.
Yes, and most do. The decision usually follows a disappointing result, so it arrives mid-term. Joining late changes the sequence I teach in, not whether the work can be done.
Then that is where we start. It is the most common finding in Class 10, and three weeks on Class 8 algebra beats a year of patching over it.
Live sessions on Zoom with a digital whiteboard. Not recorded videos. Every session is interactive, I can see your child's work in real time, and they can ask questions as we go. Batches are 3 to 5 students. More on the online Class 10 tuition page.
Yes. I teach Maths and Science for Class 10, approached the same diagnostic way. The Class 10 Science tuition page sets out how.
Plot 229, Road No. 72, Prashasan Nagar, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad 500096. Directions and timings are on the contact page.
If you want to know where your child's maths actually stands, book the 60-minute diagnostic. WhatsApp or call +91 73966 69430 with your child's class, board and school, and I will confirm a time at Jubilee Hills or on Zoom.
Ankuram Tuition Centre, Plot 229, Road No. 72, Prashasan Nagar, Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad 500096.
Read Basic vs Standard Maths in Class 10 CBSE — how to decide, and what each paper actually demands.
See online versus offline tuition for Class 10 — a comparison of both formats.
Looking for Class 10 Science tuition? View the Class 10 Science page →
