Kevin,
You're right that one of the things that makes the Speaking Test so
terrifying for many students is the fact that it's hard to know what
level you're at before you take the test. This is also true for
the Writing Test.
Part of the reason that you have a better idea how you'll do on the
listening and reading sections is that you can take a practice test and
grade yourself. It's harder to grade yourself on the writing and
speaking sections. There are, however, some places, such as the
New Oriental School in Beijing, where you can take a model Speaking
Test with a foreign examiner. I'm not sure where you're from, but
perhaps you can find somewhere to take a model interview. If you
can't find a school that does model interviews, perhaps you have a
English-speaking friend who would be willing to do an interview for you.
In the end, no matter what you do it's still difficult to really know
for sure what your level is. Your best hope is to work as hard as
possible and simply do as well as you possibly can on the test.
John
