Introduction. Increased interest in the performance of education systems in terms of strengthening the transparency for the state and society form the new tools for assessing the effectiveness based on the concept of the academic added value. Each educational system or institution can be evaluate from the point of view of efficiency of money spent by the state and the quality and scope of knowledge and skills of its graduates. Theoretical analysis. The academic added value can serve as a tool to assess the degree of improvement / strengthening of knowledge, skills and abilities of students in the learning period, the extent of giving them opportunities of critical thinking and reflection on current events and changes, and the ability to learn throughout life. Empirical analysis. Obtained on the basis of academic value-added results provide an opportunity to compare the quality of educational institutions, with different levels of the student body. Results. Academic added value concept reflects the influence of external factors, often not related to the educational process, the level of educational achievements of students, raising more serious questions about the availability and quality of education as a whole, rather than its effectiveness, and makes research in the field of education to move to the assessment of learning outcomes, rather than inputs (especially such as funding and the professional level of the teaching staff).