Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test
The Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test (often abbreviated N.E.W.T. or NEWT) is a highly-advanced test of magical ability in a particular field in the fictional Harry Potter series. The Ministry of Magic administers the series of tests 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. The N.E.W.T. designation is presumably intended to mirror the real-world English A Level and Higher School Certificate.
N.E.W.T.s are presumably graded on the same scale as the one used for grading O.W.L.s, which is:
Passing grades
- O for Outstanding
- E for Exceeds Expectations
- A for Acceptable
Failing grades
- P for Poor
- D for Dreadful
- T for Troll Template:HP5
Some of the references to N.E.W.T.s in the series include:
- Percy Weasley does very well on his N.E.W.T.s and quickly lands a job in the Ministry of Magic.
- Dumbledore noted that the auror Dawlish had received an Outstanding on all of his N.E.W.T.s.
- 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, Herbology, Charms, and Potions.
- In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry, Ron and Hermione do not return to Hogwarts for their seventh year classes and N.E.W.T exams. It is unclear whether the N.E.W.T.s even take place for the remaining students during the term, as Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic fall under the control of Lord Voldemort. However in the epilogue to Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling states that Harry, Ron and Hermione all go on to work in the Ministry of Magic, with Harry becoming head of the Auror department. Following the release of Deathly Hallows, Rowling didn’t clarify whether Harry, Ron and Hermione ever returned to school to finish their seventh year or their N.E.W.T exams.[1]
- There are only twelve students in Harry's N.E.W.T. Potions class, although all four houses are represented:
- Gryffindor: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley
- Hufflepuff: Ernie Macmillan
- Ravenclaw: Terry Boot, Michael Corner, two unnamed students
- Slytherin: Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, one unnamed student (most likely a girl, since Crabbe and Goyle failed their exams)
References
Rowling, J. K. (2003). Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Bloomsbury. ISBN 0747551006.