Ordinary Wizarding Level

The Ordinary Wizarding Level, shortened to O.W.L., is the set of subject by subject examinations Hogwarts students sit at the end of their fifth year, and Harry Potter's year sits them in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The Wizarding Examinations Authority administers them, and they have been part of the school since at least the late 1800s. Each subject carries its own paper, and the grade a student earns decides whether they may carry that subject into the sixth and seventh years, where the work is pitched well above the ordinary level. Individual teachers set their own entry requirements on top of that. The results also shape what work is open to a student after school, so preparation usually starts in fourth year and the strain on students is considerable.