Why was Charlie taking the tests in Flowers for Algernon?Reading progress reports 1-8 and I still don't know why he's taking these tests.

He is taking the tests to determine the level of his
intelligence and to determine if he has the right psychological profile to be used in
the study. Alice has recommended Charlie because unlike others with his low IQ, he is a
positive guy and eager to learn. The team gives him ink blot tests, which he cannot even
do because he is a literal thinker and sees nothing on the page but a blot of ink. He is
unable to think abstractly at first. They also give him tests to see if he can out-think
Algernon and escape from a maze. The tests are given prior to the operation so that the
research team can have a baseline with which to compare after Charlie's operation. The
only way they can measure his growth is to compare how he did on the tests before and
after the operation.