I question whether anyone would ever include something like "clean code" and rate it under, say, an 8, under any circumstances. The backend-versus-frontend bit

I question whether anyone would ever include something like "clean code" and rate it under, say, an 8, under any circumstances. The backend-versus-frontend bit is useful info, but the 10-scale isn't necessary or helpful for that. "Proficient" and "familiar", as you put it, would suffice, or ratings on a scale of four or five, if a scale is really a must. My concern isn't for the interviewer, mind you, it's for the interviewee. Including a 10-scale is just asking to have to defend it. "What sorts of things might a person rated at a three on this scale know or be able to do? What would be different for a four? What makes you a 9 instead of an 8?" These questions suck. No way I'd want to open myself up to that, and IMO they're legitimate questions. You chose a 10-scale to represent your skills. No one made you do that. And you rated your front-end skills highly! Can I expect similar things from your level-9 "clean code"? If I ask you to put a bar graph on a page will you zoom it to an inappropriate scale or label an axis with values finer than we can even measure? That's the kind of impression I'd fear giving the interviewer.