Scholarship programs similar to the Pittsburgh Promise have been established or planned in at least 20 cities to spur economic growth, revitalize failing schools and help kids dream bigger.

While initial data are promising, the programs are still too new to draw conclusive information about their effects on kids and communities.

Pittsburgh officials looked at other cities' programs to help design the Pittsburgh Promise and will develop a "report card" to track results here.

With a $100 million commitment from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center announced Dec. 5, the Pittsburgh Promise plans to offer up to $20,000 in aid to each eligible 2008 graduate of the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Students must graduate with a 2.0 average and attend one of nearly 100 approved colleges, universities and trade schools, and the amount of aid will be tied to the student's length of enrollment in city schools.

By 2012, school Superintendent Mark Roosevelt hopes to offer up to $40,000 in aid to each graduate who passes an exit exam and meets other criteria.

In Kalamazoo, Mich., home of the Kalamazoo Promise, city school enrollment is up by about 1,200 students, to 11,200, since the program was announced in November 2005, Executive Administrator Bob Jorth said. The school district Web site puts enrollment at 11,500.

Mr. Jorth called Kalamazoo the only urban district in Michigan experiencing such growth. He said it has come from new residents, transfer students from private schools and students choosing to stay in city schools rather than drop out.

In El Dorado, Ark., home of the 11-month-old El Dorado Promise, enrollment is up 140 students over last school year, program administrator James Fouse said. El Dorado Public Schools' enrollment is about 4,500.

Dr. Fouse didn't believe anybody asked newcomers why they joined the district, but said "they're pretty well distributed below the ninth grade." To be eligible for the El Dorado Promise, students must enroll in district schools by ninth grade.

In Denver, combined enrollment is up by 500 students at three high schools that piloted a scholarship program in the last school year, Cindy Abramson, executive director of Denver Scholarship Foundation, said.

The scholarship programs are popping up in urban centers struggling with such challenges as failing schools, high dropout rates, stagnant tax revenues and declining populations. Representatives from some of the programs met in Kalamazoo last week to compare notes.

"It seems to be a bit of a movement," Ms. Abramson said.

Eligibility criteria, aid levels and other factors vary by city. Some are working with research institutions to track results. Hammond, Ind., Mayor Thomas McDermott made a family's home ownership a scholarship requirement to boost the city's 65 percent owner-occupancy rate.

"If it's 75 percent two or three years from now, we can claim a victory," Mr. McDermott said.

Kalamazoo officials take credit for inspiring the wave of scholarship programs, including those in El Dorado, Denver, Hammond and Pittsburgh. Mr. Jorth said Kalamazoo, a city of about 80,000 in southwestern Michigan, is a "smaller version of Pittsburgh in many ways."

The Kalamazoo Promise, funded by anonymous donors, so far has spent $3.1 million. The program covers 100 percent of tuition for students who had attended Kalamazoo schools from kindergarten through 12th grade and lesser amounts for students enrolled for four to 12 years.

The district's enrollment isn't the only heartening statistic.

Nearly 340 graduates were awarded Promise money for college in 2006-07 and 380 received it for 2007-08. Sixty percent of those who received money the first year remain in the program for 2007-08, meaning they survived the tough first year of college. The number of black males using the program increased from 57 in the class of 2006 to 100 in the class of 2007.

"That was the most exciting statistic for me," Mr. Jorth said.

El Dorado is a city of about 20,000 in south-central Arkansas. Murphy Oil Corp. is funding El Dorado's program with $50 million over five years, with the maximum scholarship per student -- $6,000 this school year -- tied to the resident tuition rate at a state university. Students may use the school at a college or university anywhere.

El Dorado High School typically graduates about 300 students a year, with 60 percent going to college, Dr. Fouse said. With the class of 2007, the first to get Promise money, the college-bound rate jumped to 83 percent, he said.

Dr. Fouse and others also reported an enrollment jump in Advanced Placement courses and a boost in students' mindsets.

"It's just amazing to see the difference in their attitude toward school and studying. It's given them so much confidence," said Alice Mahony, vice president of the El Dorado Education Foundation.

El Dorado has more data than other cities about the tie between financial incentives and student performance.

Since 1995, the oil company's Murphy Education Program has offered students cash awards of hundreds of dollars for high performance on standardized tests and SAT, ACT and AP exams. Payouts have dipped some years but gotten progressively larger during the 12 years, meaning students are working to reap the reward. Murphy has spent $810,000 on the program.

Magen Parker, associate planning analyst with Murphy Oil, said the scholarship program complements plans for a new convention center and other efforts to make El Dorado a more vibrant place. While no big business has moved to El Dorado because of the scholarship program, she said, the chamber of commerce is reporting a surge in business interest.

Scholarship sponsors may have various reasons for getting involved.

Danette Gerald, assistant director for higher education policy at the Education Trust in Washington, D.C., said business leaders see the need to increase the number of well-educated American workers and make their communities vibrant places where employees want to live.

"It's a matter of global competitiveness," she said.

In New York state, the University of Rochester two weeks ago announced that it would give $100,000 scholarships to graduates of the city school system who enroll there. Jonathan Burdick, dean of admission and financial aid, said the university felt a moral obligation to help the poor, low-performing district.

Mr. Burdick said the university will admit city students on a case-by-case basis, without liberalizing admission policies, and will help them succeed on campus. "We don't have a lot of academic failure here," he said.

Denver's program, funded by a couple's $50 million challenge grant, awarded 170 scholarships during last school year's pilot program. Aid for each student is based on the type of post-secondary education and Expected Family Contribution, with more money going to recipients with higher EFCs.

Hammond, a city of about 80,000 abutting Chicago, began offering its College Bound scholarship two years ago with casino revenue.

"The mayor viewed the college scholarship idea as a way to retain the middle class," said Tom Dabertin, a management consultant who worked on the program.

The maximum scholarship -- $7,500 this school year -- is tied to tuition rate at a state university. It may be spent at any college or university in the state, but the student's family must own its home to qualify.

Indiana offers a scholarship program -- 21st Century Scholars -- for low-income students statewide. Research has shown that recipients are more assertive about their education, are directed toward more rigorous courses in high school and in college perform as well as or better than other groups, including more privileged students, said Ed St. John, professor of higher education at the University of Michigan.