# Self-Assessment Without a Downward Mechanism Is a Ratchet ## Claim A review step that lets the assessed party adjust their own score in either direction moves upward on average, because only one direction has an advocate. <!-- atomicity: 1 idea ✓ --> ## Scope & conditions - Symmetry in the rules does not produce symmetry in outcomes when only one party is in the room. - The fix is a second party with standing to argue down, not a stricter instruction to be honest. - Explains zombie OKRs and grade inflation with the same mechanism. - Applies to my own audit scoring wherever the scored party supplies the evidence. ## Evidence From the Measure What Matters "Audacious" newsletter on Q3 OKR grading rituals. ## Links - [[Averaging Unweighted Sub-Scores Defeats the Threshold Built on Them]] — the same grading ritual's other structural defect - [[A Ceiling Score Reported by the Scored Party Measures Test Fit]] — the same asymmetry seen in benchmark reporting - [[A Support Group Is Only a Check If It Can Contradict You]] — the general requirement — a check needs someone able to say no - [[3. Resources/MOCs/Evidence & Claims Literacy MOC]] — the claims-literacy thread on self-reported measurement.