If the person can't tell the difference between "dumbing down" and communicating appropriately for the audience in order to get their message across then I thin

If the person can't tell the difference between "dumbing down" and communicating appropriately for the audience in order to get their message across then I think the process ending in "no hire" is working fine. There's no level above which this stops being important. If anything, it only increases as you go up.