Assertion-Reasoning (A–R) type questions have been incorporated into CBSE assessments to evaluate students' higher-order cognitive skills, particularly their ability to analyze, reason, and make logical connections between concepts. These questions are designed to move beyond rote learning and encourage students to engage in critical thinking and evidence-based reasoning. However, preliminary classroom observations and board examination results suggest that students are struggling with this format. This study aims to investigate the specific challenges faced by CBSE Class X students in Maharashtra while answering A–R questions in the Science paper during the All India Secondary School Examination (2024–25). A total of 300 answer booklets from English-medium schools were analyzed to assess student performance on the four A–R questions included in the paper. The data revealed that a significant majority of students scored below average, with over 57% obtaining less than 2 out of 4 marks. These results highlight a concerning gap in students’ logical aptitude and suggest that current teaching strategies may not adequately prepare them for such assessments. The paper discusses the implications of these findings and provides recommendations for integrating reasoning-based pedagogy, improving teacher training, and redesigning classroom practices to better align with competency-based assessment formats.