OKR grading is scoring each key result from 0.0 to 1.0 at the end of a cycle — 0 means no progress, 1.0 means fully delivered, and around 0.7 is the target for a healthy stretch. An objective’s score is the average of its key results. The point isn’t the number, though — it’s the honest conversation the number forces.
Scoring is where OKRs either become a learning habit or quietly turn into a report card nobody trusts. This guide covers the 0.0–1.0 scale, how to score a key result and roll up an objective, the confidence check you run mid-cycle, and how to run the grading session itself. New to the framework? Start with the OKR guide or learn to write them in how to write OKRs →
The 0.0–1.0 scale
OKRs are scored on a scale from 0.0 to 1.0 — the share of the target you reached. It helps to think in three bands rather than chasing a precise decimal.
Missed
Little real progress. Not a punishment — a prompt to ask what got in the way, and whether it was even the right goal.
Partial
You moved the needle but fell short. Common and healthy — most honest stretch goals land here some of the time.
Delivered
You hit, or nearly hit, an ambitious target. Around 0.7 is the sweet spot; a steady 1.0 usually means the goal was too safe.
Why 0.7 is the target, not 1.0
Here’s the part that trips people up: on a true OKR, a score around 0.7 is success, not failure. OKRs are meant to be ambitious — a genuine stretch — so if you set them right, you shouldn’t fully hit every one. A team that scores 1.0 across the board almost certainly aimed too low.
If your scores are perfect every cycle, the problem usually isn’t that you’re a superteam — it’s that the targets were safe. Aim higher until landing at ~0.7 feels earned. And keep scores away from bonuses and ratings: the moment a number affects pay, people set goals they know they’ll hit.
How to score a key result
A well-written key result scores itself, because it has a baseline and a target. The formula is just the fraction of the distance you covered:
Key-result score = (result − start) ÷ (target − start), capped at 1.0. So a key result to grow trial signups from 200 to 400 that lands at 350 scores (350 − 200) ÷ (400 − 200) = 0.75.
This is exactly why key results have to be measurable outcomes with a “from X to Y” shape — see how to write OKRs. A key result written as a task (“launch the redesign”) can’t be scored honestly — it’s either done or not, and everyone argues the number.
How to score an objective
An objective doesn’t get its own separate grade — its score is the average of its key results. Three key results scoring 0.8, 0.6, and 0.4 give the objective a 0.6. Treat that as a health read of the objective overall (“mostly there,” “half there”), not a precise measurement. If one key result dominates the objective, that’s usually a sign the others weren’t pulling their weight and the OKR needed rebalancing.
Confidence during the cycle vs. score at the close
Scoring isn’t only an end-of-cycle event. The best teams track a confidence read every week, so a key result heading for a 0.2 shows up in week 4 — while you can still do something about it — not on grading day.
During the cycle — confidence
At each check-in, the owner rates how likely the key result is to land — a quick 1-to-10, or on-track / at-risk / off-track. It’s a forecast, and a falling number is your early-warning system.
At the close — score
At the end you grade what actually happened, 0.0 to 1.0. It’s a result, not a prediction. Confidence tells you where to step in mid-cycle; the score tells you what to learn once the cycle’s done.
How to run an OKR grading session
At the close of the cycle, grade the OKRs together in one short session — it’s the natural end of your quarterly rhythm. Five moves keep it honest and useful — and for the meeting craft around them (agenda, who attends, keeping it blameless), see how to run a goal review meeting →
Pull the numbers before you meet
Gather the actual result for every key result ahead of the session, so you’re grading from data, not memory. Ten minutes of prep saves an hour of arguing.
Score each key result 0.0–1.0
Compare where you landed to the target: (result − start) ÷ (target − start), capped at 1.0. Measurable key results make this arithmetic; fuzzy ones make it a debate.
Roll up each objective
Average its key-result scores. Read the number as a health signal — “mostly there,” “half there” — not a precise grade.
Talk about the why, not just the number
For each objective, ask what worked, what blocked you, and whether the target was right. The score opens the conversation; it isn’t the conversation.
Write down what you’ll carry forward
Capture what to keep, drop, or reshape next cycle. Grading only pays off if the next quarter starts smarter than this one did.
Keep scoring honest
Two habits quietly wreck OKR scores. The first is sandbagging — setting targets you know you’ll crush so every score reads 1.0; the fix is to aim higher until ~0.7 feels earned. The second is tying scores to pay or ratings, which trains people to lowball; keep grading a learning tool, separate from performance reviews. For the full field guide across writing, running, and scoring, see common OKR mistakes →
In OKR mode, Celorly scores each key result from 0.0 to 1.0 at the close and rolls them into the objective automatically — grading is a few clicks, not a spreadsheet. Through the cycle, the Monitor screen surfaces the key results going quiet so you can act early, and scores stay where they belong: a learning tool, not a performance rating.
OKR grading and scoring — quick answers
How do you score an OKR?+
Score each key result from 0.0 to 1.0 by comparing where you landed against the target: (result − start) ÷ (target − start), capped at 1.0. The objective’s score is the average of its key results. Aim for around 0.7 on a genuine stretch — a consistent 1.0 usually means you set the bar too low.
What OKR score should you aim for?+
For a real stretch goal, about 0.7 — it means strong progress on something ambitious. Scores near 1.0 every cycle suggest the targets were too easy; scores near 0 suggest they were unrealistic, or simply the wrong goals to chase.
Why is 0.7 the target for OKRs?+
OKRs are meant to be a stretch, so fully hitting 100% would mean you set them too safe. Aiming for roughly 0.7 keeps goals ambitious but achievable — you’re deliberately reaching for more than you’re sure you can do.
How do you score an objective with multiple key results?+
Average the key-result scores. An objective with three key results at 0.8, 0.6, and 0.4 scores 0.6. Read it as a health indicator of the objective overall, not a precise grade — it tells you “mostly there” versus “barely started.”
What’s the difference between confidence and score in OKRs?+
Confidence is a mid-cycle forecast — how likely you are to hit the key result — checked at each weekly review. The score is the end-of-cycle result, 0.0 to 1.0. Confidence tells you where to intervene during the quarter; the score tells you what to learn after it.
How do you score a key result that isn’t measurable?+
You mostly can’t — and that’s the signal. If a key result can’t be scored from a number, it was written as a task or an opinion, not an outcome. Rewrite it with a metric and a target before the next cycle so grading is arithmetic, not an argument.