The aim of this study is to investigate first-year non-English-major Italian University students’ ability to assess their English proficiency at the beginning of the academic year based on comparisons to official assessments from objective tests. One thousand and ninety freshmen’s Placement Test scores were analysed against self-ratings expressed using the CEFR self-assessment scale for Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing skills. The objective measure was Pearson’s Versant Placement Test (VEPT), which is intended for adults and students over the age of 16 and measures facility in spoken and written English. For the self-assessment tool, we applied the table of descriptors for self-assessment from the 2020 Italian version of the Companion Volume (Council of Europe, 2020: pp. 188-190) to which a < A1 level was added. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (Pearson correlation) using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 22 and Excel were used. Tables and figures were also used to present the data. The results of the 4 correlation analyses we conducted showed that students’ self-assessments and Placement Test assessment were statistically significant, positive and high for all four skills abilities (0.55 for Speaking, 0.68 for Listening, 0.50 for Reading, and 0.58 for Writing. Moreover, students tend to underestimate their writing skill and overestimate their reading ability. We can affirm that the self-assessments produced by students participating in our study were accurate. One reason for this high correlation may be the self-assessment tool used in the study, namely the CEFR descriptors. This study provides further evidence of the reliability and accuracy of Can-Do descriptors in EFL self-assessment and the findings can be applied by both EFL learners and teachers.
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