> "In 2013 the "conservative" Brookings Institute seemed to agree..."
Setting aside the core causation/correlation problem with your claims about scholastic credentials, it's absurd to call the Brookings institute conservative. It's centre left and, in US election donations, its employees give 97.6% Democrat.
In 2013 the "conservative" Brookings Institute seemed to agree that there is an economic advantage to a college degree.
see:
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2013/11/12/the-eco...
and
https://www.brookings.edu/research/where-is-the-best-place-t...
If you feel like they have it wrong and that the last five years has resulted in some sort of sea change then so be it.
Good luck with your kid's high school diploma.