Standards judged to be sad, then sadder, so to speak? (8)
I believe the answer is:
criteria
'standards judged' is the definition.
(as in judging criteria)
I don't understand how the remainder of the clue works.
(Other definitions for criteria that I've seen before include "Standards for judging" , "Benchmarks" , "Reference points for evaluating" , "Principles for assessment" , "Standards on which to base judgements" .)