I think if you compare objectively and critically pre-John Nicks skating and post-John Nicks skating for Ashley, I'd say she DESERVES that hike in PCS and GOEs - she's become a much better SKATER and her elements are much more solid.
Ashley is one of those rare skaters who usually adds choreography and transitions to a program as a season goes on, so the hike in GOEs wasn't coincidental.
Compare, for example, her 2011 NHK FS to her 2012 Worlds FS:
NHK: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54Ted4ZSjgE
Worlds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXc8UO8WLTQ
Just a few examples, but in the Worlds FS, she added a spread eagle before the triple loop and she tightened up the series of transitions before the triple salchow. Both of those elements were not there in the NHK performance. Big improvement--she earned the jump in GOEs. And she upped her technical content too, by changing the 2A/2T to a 2A/3T (though it got a UR).