<p>The idea of giving ‘graded’ degrees (eg summa cum laude) is a good one. </p>
<p>In most schools the difference between the top few percentage of students is frequently determined by nothing other than quarks in the way the ‘weighted’ GPAs are calculated. Something as simple as taking an advanced music class (which might not get GPA bonus points) could effectively disqualify someone from even having a mathematical chance of being in the top few spots. </p>
<p>Such a system easily lends itself to manipulation (see the infamous Blair Hornstine case from a few years back) and all for something that, at the end of the day, nobody really cares about after the fact.</p>