One of the most crucial factors in estimating students’ academic performance is the volume of educational material studied by them. The article proposes a method of calculating the volume of educational material corresponding to the studied topics. Besides, the method of calculating the volume of actually studied by the student educational material is proposed. When estimating the volume of educational material, the textual and graphic information presented in different topics of the course is taken into account, as well as its semantic load, its complexity and labor-intensiveness in studying. The proposed approach is based on the expert knowledge of the teacher, so subjectivity takes place. However, the estimation of the expert teacher correlates with the volume and complexity of the educational material and can be sufficiently reliable information for estimating the current situation with the mastering of the educational material by students. The approach proposed for estimating the volume of the studied material allows tracking the progress of both individual students and groups for the purpose of effective management of the educational process. In particular, this approach allows early identification of students who fall behind in order to motivate and support them in their studies.