The standardized learning tests, proposed in recent years in Italy by INVALSI, represent valuable tools for evaluating the educational system and provide policy guidance to policy makers. This work aims to describe an adequate assessment methodology of schools in terms of effectiveness measured as added value, providing some results concerning the regional differences in Italy, and highlights some problems related to these assessments. To do this we appropriately used multilevel regression models. The empirical results highlight the backwardness of the southern regions than in northern parts of the country, only in small part due to a different economic and social composition, but they show the presence of some southern classes getting surprisingly positive results.