Coaching Suggestion
It is useful to show your skaters the PCS ranges by level. This is easy to do. You can log on to Icenetwork.com or ISU.com and search the results from US Nationals or other competitions and then click on the tabs to open the results from the Novice through Senior events and show them what the top skaters at each level are earning for PCS. They will quickly understand that the best Novice skaters usually score the same as the Junior skaters and that the best Juniors skaters usually score the same as the Senior skaters.
In general, they can also see how each judge has a different opinion since most often all of the judges rate each of the separate component criteria (skating skills, transitions, performance/execution, choreography and interpretation) with a different or close to different score. This helps them understand the complexity of how they are scored and can lead them to deliver their various choreographic movements more clearly.
If they continually score lower in components this section of the PS can also be used to help the skater and their parents understand the need for off ice training in ballet, dance as well as other types of movement classes beyond what they are doing on the ice.