The primary aim of this paper is to identify the cognitive and metacognitive strategies used by 8th grade students for solving multiple-choice questions on "Photosynthesis and Respiration" which is among the main subjects of Biology and to compare these strategies according to the type of the school (public school- private school), the level overall grade point averages and the status of answering questions correctly or incorrectly. The study was designed as a qualitative case study. The

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... pants of the study included 8 eighth-grade students in total, who were studying in a private, and in a public school located in the province of Kars. The students who participated in the study were asked to answer the multiple-choice questions on "Photosynthesis and Respiration" during thinking-aloud sessions. To identify whether the strategies used by students in the problem-solving process were cognitive or metacognitive, semi-structured interviews focused on students' purposes to use cognitive and metacognitive strategies were conducted with students directly after they solve each multiple-choice question. The data collected from the observation records of the processes of multiple-choice question solving, and semi-structured interviews were analysed. The studied data were analysed. The results of the study revealed that 8th grade students who were studying in a private school, whose overall grade point averages was at "Very Good" level, and who answered the multiple-choice questions correctly used a number of cognitive and metacognitive strategies while solving these questions. On the other hand, the students who were studying in a public school, whose overall grade point averages was at "Average" and "Poor" levels , and who answered the questions incorrectly, used a limited range of cognitive and metacognitive strategies.