I think this is overly dismissive and pedantic. The person you're replying to is speaking more broadly, and presenting a hypothetical model where we would expe

I think this is overly dismissive and pedantic. The person you're replying to is speaking more broadly, and presenting a hypothetical model where we would expect to see something that looks ostensibly like grade inflation, but isn't. It's obvious that they understand this distinction, so I don't really believe your comment is all that constructive. In the context of the subject article, it certainly appears that there was a sudden change based on a test-grading change and thus score inflation is indeed what happened. However, it's still possible that the former panel-of-experts system was inadvertently a more relative grading system which was slowly adapting to better pedagogical methods and better performing students. For what it's worth, I consider this unlikely, but it's an idea worth considering rather than dismissing entirely.