I certainly don't trust GPAs. The best signal I can read from a transcript is how quickly someone when above and beyond the basics. Did they skip intro classe

I certainly don't trust GPAs. The best signal I can read from a transcript is how quickly someone when above and beyond the basics. Did they skip intro classes? Did they get into grad level courses? How quickly? Did they take more of any hard subject than required? But GPA? A very poor one can be a signal (usually bad, occasionally good) but a good doesn't tell me much.