A discussion of foreign language education, evaluation, and communication in the context of the Finnish comprehensive school focuses on communication as a "graded" property that can be achieved at various levels of accuracy. Problems in designing summative tests for mixed-ability groups and shortcomings in the existing system are discussed, and a test of English as a second language administered to 104 seventh-graders is used as an example. It is suggested that the essential criterion in scoring should be comprehension and that, if the development of communicative skills is regarded as a continuum ranging from zero communication to virtually bilingual competence, learners can and should be encouraged to work towards the quality of skills within their reach. Sample test segments and item analyses are appended. (Author/MSE)