Academic assessments serve three main purposes: 1) to understand students' learning abilities, styles, and needs, 2) to identify any gaps or deficiencies in skills that require targeted instruction, and 3) to determine when classroom tests are insufficient and more specialized testing is needed. There are three tiers of assessment: classroom, support from the school's special education resource teacher (SERT), and formal testing by a psychologist or psychometrist. Standardized tests are useful because they control for classroom variables, pinpoint specific skill strengths and weaknesses, and inform individualized strategies to improve achievement.