Because they pay their kids to go to school?
They push their kids to be #1. Their entire culture is math, math, math.
In the US, kids and parents only get instant results from sports so the kids play to be the best in sports. If you are into math, you must be one of the nerds from the “Big Bang Theory” show. And this is the attitude of the mid/upper class white Americans.
How did this happen? During the 60’s, there was a massive push to get a man on the moon before the Soviets and we’ve slacked off ever since.