The study compared the self-concepts of visually impaired (N=61) students, and normally sighted (N=229), all in grades 6 through 8. Self-concept was assessed with the Student Self-Assessment Inventory: General and Visually Impaired Forms. Visually impaired students and 76 of the sighted students were tested with the inventory's oral format (with slight additional modifications for the visually impaired) while the remaining sighted students received the written format. Visually impaired students were all residents at special schools for the visually impaired. The measure evaluates student self-knowledge, self-esteem, and self-ideal in the areas of physical maturity, peer relations, academic success, and school adaptiveness. Results indicated that differences in self-concept scores for normally sighted and visually impaired students were small and not influenced significantly by such factors as grade level, test format, or testing procedure and provided little support for the notion that visually impaired students have lower self-concepts than sighted peers. On some measures (e.g., physical maturity self-ideal) scores favored the visually impaired students. The differences that did exist between groups showed the area-specific nature of self-concept. (DB)