Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test

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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 British A Level.

N.E.W.T.s are presumably graded on the same scale as 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 ^[HP5]

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

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, Herbology, Charms, and Potions.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry says he is not expecting to return to Hogwarts for his seventh year. If this indeed happens, then he will not be able to take his N.E.W.T.s, presuming the school even reopens.
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, Ron Weasley
- Hufflepuff: Ernie Macmillan
- Ravenclaw: Terry Boot, Michael Corner, two unnamed students
- Slytherin: Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, one unnamed student