"...to the best it can be at the time...."

Some theologians would call it, "Senses of Tradition"; others, "Continuity and Development in the Catholic Faith"; Newman, "Development of Christian Dogma"; still others use terms like "development in continuity," "dramatic development as a sense," "incipient development as a sense," "prospectivity," etc. But all the terms mean what you say above, Leo Sprietsma, especially in regard to the model one uses in studying the development of dogma: the dialectical model, noetic model, organic model, reception model, or Stohr's model, among others! A good systematic Theologian couldn't simplify it better than you did, Leo!