Ordinary Wizarding Level

Encyclopedia : O : OR : ORD : Ordinary Wizarding Level

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In the fictional universe that is the setting for the Harry Potter series of books authored by J. K. Rowling (and the associated cinematic projects), an Ordinary Wizarding Level (often abbreviated O.W.L. or OWL), is the first academic designation awarded to students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, preceding the second and final N.E.W.T. designation. After achieving a passing grade on an examination testing one's knowledge and ability within a particular subject area, the student is awarded an O.W.L. designation in that particular subject area. The concept of the O.W.L. is based upon the British system of secondary education, in which students work toward the eventual writing of examinations which, if passed, grant the student designations of various levels in a wide range of disciplines. The O.W.L. designation is intended to mirror the real-world British GCSE or, perhaps more accurately, its predecessor, the O Level.

O.W.L. practices

O.W.L. examinations are administered to all Hogwarts students in their fifth year. They are not administered or graded by the school, but by officials from the Ministry of Magic's Wizarding Examinations Authority. The examinations do, however, take place at Hogwarts, and Ministry officials make an annual trip to the school to administer these examinations. Hogwarts teachers heavily emphasise the importance of the tests, as they play an important role in determining each student's course of study in his or her remaining two years of school (many N.E.W.T. classes require high O.W.L. grades as prerequisites) as well as the careers that the students choose to pursue after Hogwarts.

Students take an O.W.L. for each subject that they have studied. The tests take place in the month of June (at the end of the school year), and they are spread out over the span of a couple of weeks. Each examination comprises a theoretical portion and a practical portion, unless the examination is for a subject that only involves the learning of textual information (such as History of Magic and Ancient Runes), in which case only a theoretical examination is administered.

The theoretical portions of the examinations are written and administered in Hogwarts' Great Hall, which changes layout from four long tables to many individual desks when it comes time for O.W.L. exams to be administered. The practical portions of the examinations are performed by each student individually before a Ministry official, who sets the student various tasks that pertain to the specified subject (for example, demonstrating a series of defence spells for a Defence Against the Dark Arts examination or making a particular potion for Potions). The official then evaluates the student on his or her performance based on a six-letter grading scale.

Grading

When a student passes an O.W.L. examination, that student is said to have obtained an "Ordinary Wizarding Level" (O.W.L.) in that particular magical field of study.

O.W.L.s are graded on the following scale:

Passing grades

• O for Outstanding
• E for Exceeds Expectations
• A for Acceptable

Failing grades

• P for Poor
• D for Dreadful
• T for Troll

Available subjects

O.W.L.s can be taken in the following subjects:

Compulsory subjects include Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, History of Magic, Charms, Astronomy and Herbology.

Electives include Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies.

Harry Potter's O.W.L.s

Harry Potter takes his O.W.L.s in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. He receives his grades in the following book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry is told that Professor McGonagall accepts only students who have achieved at least Exceeds Expectations on their O.W.L.s into her N.E.W.T.-level Transfiguration classes. Professor Snape only accepts students who have achieved Outstanding on their Potions O.W.L.s into his N.E.W.T.-level classes.

In Half-Blood Prince, Harry receives his O.W.L. marks:

• Astronomy: A
• Care of Magical Creatures: E
• Charms: E
• Defence Against the Dark Arts: O
• Divination: P
• Herbology: E
• History of Magic: D
• Potions: E
• Transfiguration: E

This means 7 out of a possible 9 OWLs.

At first it seems his chance of being an Auror is shattered because Professor Snape only accepts students who have achieved an Outstanding into his N.E.W.T. class, and Potions being an essential study for Aurors. However, once at Hogwarts, Harry learns that Professor Snape was finally allowed to take the Defence Against the Dark Arts job and his replacement, Professor Slughorn, was accepting students (like Harry) with "Exceeds Expectations" to continue with N.E.W.T.-level Potions.

Other characters' known O.W.L.s

• Hermione Granger gets ten O's, but only an E in Defence Against the Dark Arts (this may be an error, as Hermione is only known for certain to have taken ten O.W.L.s, although she may have continued with Muggle Studies on her own). Her three (known) extra classes are Arithmancy, Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures.
• Ron Weasley received seven O.W.L.s with similar grades to Harry, passing and failing the same subjects, but he received no O's.
• Fred and George Weasley received three O.W.L.s each.
• Neville Longbottom received at least four O.W.L.s.
• Percy Weasley received twelve O.W.L.s.
• Barty Crouch Jr. received twelve O.W.L.s.
• Bill Weasley received twelve O.W.L.s.

See also

• Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test (N.E.W.T.)

 

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