The results and analysis of PISA studies have been in the centre of interest of most countries, giving useful comparative information about the success, trends and tendencies of educational systems crucial for the development. We can analyse the data and compare the results within and between the countries to find the evidence of possible factors which seem to work in education, or on the contrary cause low achievement.

Learning skills and strategies are one of the most important factors influencing the academic performance and success. Metacognitive awareness and skills are proved to be linked to academic performance having highly positive effect on improving the results, possible to develop and to improve with training independent of student’s intellectual ability (Pennequin et al., 2010; van der Stel, M., Veenman M.V.J. (2010). Hacker, D.J. et al (2009) pointed out that successful students take charge of their own learning. Taking charge requires students to be aware of their own learning, to evaluate their learning need, to generate strategies, and to implement those strategies.

Metacognition was first pointed out in PISA 2000, but there was lack of instrument this time. The recent PISA studies in 2009 already have included questions in reading part and students’ questionnaires. It is now stated to be an important factor that can be developed as components of reading literacy(OECD, 2010b).

To enhance everyone’s academic performance the possible disadvantaging factors should be discovered, researched and reduced. Although PISA tests and questionnaires are translated to all main languages spoken in the country, the schools or regions of other language than the main have shown lower results. High-performing Finland declares no significant regional differences in reading results but only the Swedish speaking region (Hautamäki et al.,2008, p 42). In Estonia the pupils of Russian speaking schools have performed on lower level in reading than their peers in Estonian speaking schools (Tire et al., 2010, p 27). Where does the effect of the language lie, as a characteristic of a student or a characteristic of a school, should be analysed.

The indication of school language being related to the academic performance in PISA along with metacognitive skills of pupils, placing minority language speaker pupils in a disadvantaged position, deserves educators’ and policymakers’ attention to provide them more equal possibilities by  developing the overall educational tradition and instructional practice in their schools.

As metacognitive skills and awareness have academic performance enhancing effect and rather strong relationship with PISA results, we may hypothesize that the pupils performing on lower levels have not acquired the necessary learning strategies. If there is variation between schools in the level of pupils’ metacognitive skills and awareness, a plausible causal explanation to this could be different instructional practices and traditions in different schools presenting or not presenting advanced learning strategies to pupils.

The aim of this paper is to discover the relationships between metacognitive skills of pupils, PISA results and school language. The differentiation on either student or school level, and possible association with school language will be analysed.

Hacker, D.J. et al (2009). A Growing Sense of “Agency”. In J.D.Hacker, J.Dunlosky & A.C.Graesser (Eds) Handbook of Metacognition in Education (pp 1-4), NY: Routledge Hautamäki, J. et al (2008). PISA06 Finland: Analysis, reflections and explanations. Helsinki: University Print. Retrieved from http://www.pisa2006.helsinki.fi/files/PISA06_Analyses_Reflections_and_Explanations.pdf OECD(2010). PISA 2009 Assessment Framework: Key Competencies in Reading, Mathematics and Science, Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/11/40/44455820.pdf Pennequin, V. et al (2010). Metacognition and low achievement in mathematics: The effect of training in the use of metacognitive skills to solve mathematical word problems, Thinking & Reasoning, 16 (3), 198–220 Tire, G. et al (2010). PISA 2009-Eesti tulemused. Eesti 15-aastaste õpilaste teadmised ja oskused funktsionaalses lugemises, matemaatikas ja loodusteadustes. Retrieved from http://www.ekk.edu.ee/vvfiles/0/PISA_2009_Eesti.pdf van der Stel, M.& Veenman M.V.J. (2010). Development of metacognitive skillfulness: A Longitudinal study. Learning and Individual Differences 20, 220-224, Elsevier