Two principles and one verbal technique provide a sound basis for communicating to students and their parents the information obtained from testing: (1) parents have the right to know whatever the school knows about the abilities, performance and problems of their children; (2) the school has the obligation to see that it communicated understandable and usable knowledge; and (3) preface the analysis of test results with the phrase "you(or your son/daughter) score like people who..." Communicating test results meaningfully involves attention to content, language and audience. IQs should rarely be reported to students or their parents. Grade placement scores or standard scores are less likely to cause trouble, but they require careful explanation. Percentiles probably are the safest and most informative numbers to use provided it is made clear that they refer not to the percent of questions answered correctly but to the percent of people whose performance the student has equalled or surpassed and provided it is made clear who the people are with whom the student is being compared. (KM)