"But, if grade inflation is supposed to be analogous with price inflation, rising grades do not, in themselves, constitute inflation. Rather, grade inflation occurs when grades rise relative to the quality of the academic performance of the students. And because we do not keep records of the quality of work students have done, we do not know whether grades have risen relative to the quality of that work. Perhaps, in any given university, the students are more talented, or harder working, or better prepared on entry, or better taught, or all four."