The Investigation of the Place of Inference as a Cognitive Skill in the Algerian BAC Examinations of English

Abstract

The present paper is concerned with the evaluation of the English Baccalaureate examination subjects in Algeria. Our aim was to explore the extent to which inference level is taken into consideration in these official examinations. In order to conduct the study, we analyzed sixteen (16) English BAC examination papers to know whether they include questions that necessitate the inference skill. Also, in our research we used Edyz Quellmalz framework of critical thinking skills including five skills, which are; recall, analysis, comparison, inference, and evaluation. The results showed that the five skills in Quellmalz taxonomy are all included but in imbalanced percentages. Inference questions in the BAC exams are highly included, it takes 37.82%. Almost all the types of inferences are found in the English BAC examinations we analyzed but unfortunately they all belong to simple inferences. Finally, a set of suggestions have been provided so to improve the English BAC examinations in Algeria.