Without rigorous studies indicating that the quality of student work is higher under specifications grading, an argument could be made that the positive shift in final letter grades is a form of grade inflation due to reduced rigor. However, this argument fails to take into account that students are held to a high standard to earn credit on assignments when no partial credit is included. For example, an instructor may set a threshold of B-level work or above for a student to earn credit on an assignment, as recommended by Nilson. Holding students to these high standards often results in students not passing all assignments on the first attempt. Without the ability to accumulate partial credit, students are held accountable for revisiting material and taking advantage of revision or resubmission opportunities to demonstrate improved understanding of LOs. Providing opportunities for students to try again to meet the high standard set by the instructor supports learning and results in grade elevation, not grade inflation [109]. This sentiment is supported by work conducted by Moster and Zingales in their organic chemistry course described earlier in this review . They suggest the higher final letter grades students earn under the specifications grading system are consistent with the achievement of course LOs based on their performance on a final exam. While their work presents some initial evidence that students' quality of work correlates with final letter grades, additional studies are necessary to quell the concerns of those who are hesitant to adopt alternative grading systems for fear of propagating grade inflation.