Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test - Definition and Overview

In the fictional Harry Potter series, N.E.W.T. is an acronym for Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test, a highly advanced test of magical ability in a particular field that the Ministry of Magic administers to students before they graduate from Hogwarts. For their sixth and seventh years, Hogwarts students select which N.E.W.T.-level classes they want to take in order to prepare for the tests. Achievement on these tests is highly important for graduates seeking employment. The Ministry of Magic, for example, seeks to hire only those with exceptionally good scores on their N.E.W.T.s. Like the Ordinary Wizarding Levels (O.W.L.s), N.E.W.T.s are graded on the following scale:

• O for Outstanding, the highest grade
• E for Exceeds Expectations
• A for Acceptable, the highest passing grade
• P for Poor
• D for Dreadful
• T for Troll (if this isn't one of George Weasley's jokes)

Some of the references to N.E.W.T.s in the series include:

• Percy Weasley does excellently on his N.E.W.T.s and quickly lands a job in the Ministry of Magic.
• In Chapter 29 of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter (at the time preparing for his O.W.L.s), consults with Professor McGonagall about career possibilities. He wants to be an Auror, and she informs him that the Ministry of Magic expects Auror applicants to have achieved "Exceeds Expectations" in at least five N.E.W.T.s. She recommends that he enroll in the N.E.W.T.-level classes in Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms, and Potions.

See also

• O.W.L.s