(AP) AUSTIN – Pizza parties, field trips and other rewards – including cash – for students who pass the TAKS may be in violation of federal privacy laws for students, the state's education chief has warned.

In a letter to school superintendents that was released Thursday, state Education Commissioner Robert Scott said the Texas Education Agency has received "numerous reports" from across the state that students' confidential test score results may have been directly or indirectly disclosed.

"Specifically, some districts and campuses have distributed or released test scores in a manner that may have inadvertently identified students who did not meet the standard" on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills, Mr. Scott wrote.

"These reports reflect that rewards are being offered to selected students based on meeting the standard on the test ... consisting of such things as cash, pizza parties, field trips and other varying forms of recognition."

The problem, according to the commissioner, is that typically only a minority of students fail to pass the TAKS at each school. By recognizing those who pass, it is easy to identify by process of elimination the students who fail.

Mr. Scott said that while the motivational efforts are intended to help students by encouraging better performance on the test, they also have a negative effect on those who are not rewarded.

Mr. Scott said a district may in some circumstances recognize students who achieve a high level of performance on the test, such as those who are in the upper 5 percent or 10 percent of scores.

Debbie Ratcliffe, a spokeswoman for the TEA, said Thursday that even school assemblies at which educators recognize students for passing the TAKS is technically a violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

"If you have 20 students in a room and single out 15 who passed the test, it's pretty obvious who didn't pass," she said. "Principals aren't intentionally trying to violate the privacy rights of children, they have just not thought through what they're doing."

Ms. Ratcliffe said the agency has no figures on how many districts or schools reward students for passing the TAKS. "But we know it happens fairly frequently," she added.