Mara Sapon-Shevin has argued that gifted programs result in educational triage, with the gifted program taking a disproportionate amount of school resources, leaving other pupils with much reduced resources.
Her critics have countered that her research was into a school that was untypical of gifted education programs in general.
Gifted programs also often have problems with the singling out of the gifted students by regular students. Gifted programs that are in the same school but under a separate program can cause a problem with bullying, as a specific set of targets, already singled out for a reason that might fuel a bully's insecurity (above-average performance intellectually), are objects of abuse. Such a program can result in gifted students being discriminated against by other students. This obviously has negative effects on the students as well, perhaps not just limited to a dim view of 'normal' students.