The primary purpose of this study was to explore the effect of non-promotion on the self concept of pupils in public elementary schools. First graders (N=585) from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania were administered the FACES self concept scale at two different times during the 1973-1974 school year. Of these first graders, 25 non-promoted pupils, 25 randomly selected promoted pupils and 25 "borderline" pupils were administered the FACES scale at two different times during the 1974-1975 school year. A parent questionnaire, an in-depth parent interview and two teacher questionnaires were also administered to the teachers and parents of the non-promoted children to secure opinions bearing on the non-promoted pupils' self concepts and the effect of non-promotion on the children's self concepts. It is concluded that: (1) non-promotion appears to have no effect on the self concept of first grade children; (2) despite the fact of non-promotion, the self concepts of the non-promoted group continue to increase during the repeated school year while the self concepts of the borderline and promoted groups tend to decrease; (3) self concept scores of the three promotion groups do not significantly differ at the beginning and end of the study; (4) both parents and teachers see their non-promoted children's self concepts as positive and as becoming more positive or remaining stable after non-promotion. (Author/RF)