My point exactly, @mcarver2000 
However, this discussion has just crystallised something for me.
This game keeps stats. We know it keeps stats because the devs say they use the stats to nerf things like Dash and the Piranha. Presumably it only keeps the stats of saved games, but that’s great if you want it to take account of save scumming - because a save scummer by definition automatically saves at the end of every move.
So instead of looking at the Final Mission Result and saying: “This player took zero casualties against 10 Pandas - let’s increase the number of Pandas until he starts taking casualties.” - it looks at the stats and says "This player actually lost 10 men before he succeeded on this mission, so let’s reduce the number of Pandas until he only loses 1 man per mission [or whatever the ‘game optimal’ result is deemed to be].
Doesn’t matter why you saved the game. Maybe you were scumming, or maybe as mcarver2000 has described, you were doing it for a host of other reasons. It really doesn’t matter, because the stats say that on Mission #42, you lost X men before you achieved a Mission Successful result, and therefore your ability level is X rather than A.
God knows how easy that is to program. I’d hazard the answer is ‘not’. But that’s what the devs need to do if they want the DDA to work as intended.