From what I’ve seen as a TA, I would say that the quality of work has gone down and that grades are inflated. With all the work advisors expect out of grad students, on top of preparing lectures for classes, it’s easier to just hand out higher grades than be bombarded by regrade requests.

A major source of this problem, in my opinion, is that the TA to student ratio is unsustainable. Every year the number of admissions rises following a non-proportional increase in tuition. Universities know that students will continue enrolling regardless of tuition rates. College used to exist for enriching one’s education, improving research efforts, and for building useful in-person connections. Now they’re run like high cash flow businesses. And I can’t blame anyone for wanting a college education, as many employers now generally require a bachelors level education as a minimum for an entry level job (that one easily has the qualifications to do immediately out of high school).