CEFR writing level test: how CEFRHub assesses your text

How does CEFRHub assess a text?

In short: You type a text, or upload a file or a photo of handwritten work. It receives three marks out of 10, combined into a weighted average that falls into a score band; safeguards check the level boundary before the level and the report are awarded.

1. 1Choose writing and the assessed language, French or English, then a target level to get a prompt at that level, or free production to write on a topic of your choice.
2. 2Type your text, or upload a file or a photo of handwritten work: the text is read from the image before the analysis.
3. 3Read the analysis, which arrives in under 3 minutes: the level and sub-level, the descriptors that apply to the text, the strengths and what is left to work on.

Behind it, the grid is published: three marks out of 10, a weighted average, a score band, safeguards at each level boundary, then the level and the report. An AI model reads the production and applies the grid published in the methodology: the scores, the weighting, the bands and the safeguards. The code computes the lexical measures and rejects a production that is too short; it does not recompute the level.

CEFRHub is an educational assessment aligned with the CEFR: it is neither an official exam nor a certification. It assesses written production; it does not measure reading comprehension.

What is scored, and how much does each part weigh?

In short: Three marks: pragmatic competence (52% of the score), linguistic competence (36%) and orthographic control (12%). Sociolinguistic competence (register, politeness, fit to the situation) is analyzed in the report, outside the score.

Each dimension is scored from 1 to 10. The score is their weighted average: pragmatic × 0.52 + linguistic × 0.36 + spelling × 0.12.

The CEFR prescribes no numerical weighting. This one is an operational reading of the Companion Volume's hierarchy, which positions pragmatic competence as superordinate.

A transcript of speech submitted as text is scored differently: pragmatic × 0.60 + linguistic × 0.40; spelling is not scored.

How does the score become a CEFR level?

In short: The weighted average falls into one of the nine published bands, from A1 to C2. The score sets a band, not the level awarded: three safeguards can lower the computed result.

Below 2.5, the production does not yet allow A1 to be awarded; the report says so.

Safeguards

• Without at least two C1 markers attested in the production, a score of 8.3 or above is capped at B2.2.
• Strong spelling or pronunciation never on its own justifies a move to C1 — the CEFR's “range over accuracy” principle: accuracy without syntactic complexity stays B2.2.
• Each level boundary carries its own exclusion checklist, to be verified before the level is awarded.

In the CEFRHub assessment, the sub-level places your production within the level: .1, the level is reached; .2, it is consolidated and features of the next level are starting to appear, what the CEFR calls a “plus” level (A2+, B1+, B2+). A2, B1 and B2 have two sub-levels; A1, C1 and C2 have none.

How long should the text be?

In short: A text under 20 words is not assessed. Beyond that, the shorter the text, the less reliable the result: aim for at least the expected length for the level, from 25 to 40 words at A1 up to 240 to 320 words at C2.

A text under 20 words is not assessed.

• The result is an educational diagnosis. A short text, or one far from the task, gives fewer clues: the result is less certain.
• Near the boundary between two levels (e.g. B1/B2), the AI may under- or over-estimate the level.

What does the report contain?

In short: The level and sub-level on the CEFR scale, a summary, an analysis of three competences with examples taken from the text, strengths, points to improve, recommendations and the next level.

• The level detected and the sub-level (for example B2.2) on the CEFR scale.
• A summary of the production and of what places it at this level.
• The detailed analysis of three competences: linguistic, sociolinguistic, pragmatic, with examples taken from the production.
• Strengths, points to improve and recommendations.
• The next level and what it requires.

The free account gets a basic report (about 500 words) and a 2-page PDF summary; the full report in the sample corresponds to the paid plans.

The detailed report also shows the word count and two lexical measures computed by the code, TTR and MTLD, for information: they do not enter the score.

What does the CEFR say about written production?

In short: Three scales of the Companion volume cover written production: overall written production, creative writing, and reports and essays. CEFRHub's report draws on the descriptors of the CEFR and its Companion Volume, which it quotes.

Here, quoted from the Companion Volume, is what the overall written production scale describes at B1, B2 and C1.

• B1

  Can produce straightforward connected texts on a range of familiar subjects within their field of interest, by linking a series of shorter discrete elements into a linear sequence. (p. 66)

• B2

  Can produce clear, detailed texts on a variety of subjects related to their field of interest, synthesising and evaluating information and arguments from a number of sources. (p. 66)

• C1

  Can employ the structure and conventions of a variety of genres, varying the tone, style and register according to addressee, text type and theme. (p. 66)

Quoted descriptors: © Council of Europe, 2020. Council of Europe — CEFR Companion volume, English edition, 2020 (PDF)

What is the teacher's role?

In short: CEFRHub is for a first reading and low-stakes decisions: placing a learner in a group, a score on a first draft, tracking progress. It does not take the final decision: the teacher reviews what counts.

• A first reading in minutes, to free time for feedback and teaching.
• Low-stakes decisions: placing a learner in a group, a score on a first draft, tracking progress between two assessments.
• The same published method for every production, which makes it easier to compare a learner with themselves over time.

• CEFRHub is not a certifying test: when an official result is required, the learner needs an official exam.
• CEFRHub does not take the final decision: the teacher reviews what counts.
• CEFRHub does not assess comprehension: it assesses written and spoken production.

Is it free to assess a text with CEFRHub?

In short: Yes, to start. One written assessment is free every 30 days, with no credit card. For more, each assessment uses one credit, from CA$5, or is included in a subscription.

Free to start, no credit card: one spoken assessment offered once and one written assessment every 30 days. After that, credits with no subscription from CA$5 (1 credit = 1 assessment), or a subscription: Professional at CA$49/month (50 assessments), Power at CA$89/month (200 assessments), Expert at CA$179/month (unlimited assessments, under a fair-use policy: 50 analyses per day). 7-day money-back guarantee on the first subscription (full refund if 5 assessments or fewer); cancel anytime, with no cancellation fees. Plus applicable taxes.