Ordinary Wizarding Levels

O.W.L. is the fictional abbreviation for Ordinary Wizarding Levels in the Harry Potter series, to be intended as the magical equivalent of British O levels; they are the tests that all Hogwarts students are required to take in their fifth year.

The tests are spread out over a couple of weeks, and each subject has a theory as well as a practical part (except for History of Magic, which is only theory, for obvious reasons).

The different marks students can achieve are:

• O for Outstanding, the highest grade
• E for Exceeds Expectations
• A for Acceptable
• P for Poor
• D for Dreadful
• T for Troll (we aren't sure if this mark really exists)