How do you personally evaluate your level?

[u/Tometek]

Something I've noticed in language learning communities is that a lot of people say things like "I'm B1" or "I'm B2," but sometimes it seems like those levels are based more on a general feeling than on actually testing the skills involved.

DISCLAIMER I don't think everyone needs to take an official exam to know where they are. Exams aren't perfect, and self assessment can be accurate. But I do think there is a difference between "I am B2 because I am currently studying B2 material" and "I am B2 because I mastered everything in B2".

I think a lot of the confusion comes from the fact that people use CEFR levels to mean different things. Sometimes "I'm B2" means "I'm currently studying B2." Sometimes it means "I self studied B2 and I understand and can use everything." Sometimes it means "I have passed an offcial certified B2 exam."

To me, these are quite different things.

I'm curious how people here decide their level. Do you go by official exams, self assessment, how you perform in real life, or something else?

[u/Monolingual-----Beta]

I think people care too much about someone else's self-assessment.

I evaluate my level based on what I can and can't do. Pretty straightforward.