ISI is a different ballgame. If you're trying to compare a first--place performance in Artistic to a Freeskate event, just stop now. There are no similarities between the two events in terms of judging. Artistic is really how the skater covers the ice, interprets the music and skates. There are no technical elements to judge, so adding jumps means nothing. In a freestyle, there are required and extra elements as well as flow, pattern and a myriad of other judging elements. Don't compare one event's performance to the other in trying to figure out why your skater took this or that. It's like comparing apples to baseball bats, lol.
In freestyle events, each judge is given a sheet that lists one or more required elements, duration, extra content, etc. The judges are instructed to not speak with parents, skaters, coaches, etc. about the scoring or video reviews. This is to avoid misstatements, confrontations or accusations of student-poaching.
To challenge the judging, your coach has to submit a form and a fee. If the challenge is upheld, that fee gets refunded. I laid out the $50 because I KNEW something was wrong with the scoring. It was refunded when they found that one judge's sheet had been overlooked when they added up the scores. (Back in the days before computerized scoring.) That wasn't the judge's fault; it was the scorer's error and it completely upended the results. Correcting the already-awarded medals was a bigger problem.
FYI: falls don't really matter in ISI Freeskate events. As long as the skater gets back up and keeps going, it doesn't affect the scoring very much. Technically, there is no deduction, it just lowers the skaters' General Overall score minutely.
If a skater attempts a required element and fails to do it cleanly, s/he can try two more times in the same program. The best attempt is judged. While you may have seen the 1st place skater fall on something, she might have completed the maneuver later on in the program successfully. If your daughter left out a required element, she would get a zero from the judge responsible for that element. If she attempted one or more time, but wasn't successful, she'd get a .5 score just for trying.
The biggest impact on ISI FS scores is doing elements that are from a higher level than the event. That's an automatic 2.0 point deduction that can cost a skater a medal. Also, running over on program time can cause the duration score (normally a 10 point score) to drop to 8 or even 5 points, depending on how long the music continues. However, if a skater's program includes legitimate extra maneuvers, they can gain a few extra points.
Just thinking about how you have to double-check everything for your coach, I'd guess she just doesn't know what to do so she doesn't do anything. Could be a lack of experience. Your coach also probably doesn't want to get a reputation as a complainer, or she just feels you're overreacting about a simple ISI competition. Just mho.
There are many times where I'd like to see judge's sheets to ease my mind that the program was choreographed correctly and that everything was "called" correctly, but neither the ISI or Basic Skills really allows that easily. I wish that, if an element were left out or too-high level, I'd like to have it pointed out to me as the coach so that I cpi;d correct the error, whether it be the choreography or the skater's technique. Case in point: a required upright spin that the skater performed with a bent knee. If it was judged as a poorly-executed sit spin, above the event's test level, I'd want to know that that's what the judges assumed and that's what hurt the skater's placement. Not necessarily to challenge it, but to fix the problem rather than have it crop up at the next competition and cause the same issue.
But not everyone feels that way and there are people who would argue "What are you crazy? It wasn't a sit spin!" and create tension. That's the reason for the gag order. Back in the old days, the ISI would post each element's score, adding across to show the skater's score. Now they just show the totals, which is enough for placements, but useless as feedback on performances.
If you have a video, you and the coach should review the performance. Make sure every required element was included --sometimes I've "seen" my skaters do things that were really left out when I checked the video. Look closely at the extra elements in the program and make sure that they aren't from a higher-level skating test. Check the running time of the music and make sure it's within the allowed time +/- 10 seconds. That might help you find out what held your DD back and give you a chance to correct any mistakes.
It was ISI freestlye.