Education Minister Dave Hancock discusses the 2009 PISA test results at the Alberta legislature Tuesday. (CBC)

Alberta's 15-year-old students rank high in the world in reading, science and mathematics, the provincial government said Tuesday.

The results, contained in the 2009 Programme for International Student Assessment, or PISA, place Alberta students second in the world in reading and scientific literacy and eighth in mathematical literacy.

But the averages for Alberta students have declined in reading and math since the test was last administered in 2006.

"Alberta scores have seen some declines in performance in reading and mathematics compared to our previous performance," Education Minister Dave Hancock said.

"So the good news is we're still doing very, very well in the world. The bad news is, we've had some declines in our own scores."

The tests were written in spring 2009 by 2,900 Alberta students competing against students from 64 other countries.

The Alberta students ranked highest in Canada in both reading and science, and second in the world in those subjects.

In math, the students were second in Canada and eighth internationally.

The PISA tests are administered every three years by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development to assess how 15-year-olds do in reading, mathematical and scientific literacy.