It'll really require a culture shift, starting with the parents. I don't know much about school systems in other parts of the country, but going to school in Ma

It'll really require a culture shift, starting with the parents. I don't know much about school systems in other parts of the country, but going to school in Maryland there wasn't a lack of mathematical support and teaching. The kids who excelled and wanted to push themselves got all the support they needed. And usually it was kids with intelligent parents that pushed the importance of education and mathematics on them that did well. I'd bet the top performers in American schools are basically on par with top performers in other countries. The will and determination to push kids into that top performer bracket isn't there, even amongst the well-off. You can force stricter math curriculum onto students, but all it will accomplish is more students failing and their parents complaining that they are pushing the kids too hard. And a lot of those parents have good paying jobs that don't require them to even remember algebra... so they probably don't have any respect for the subject. That type of mentality is endemic in America. Naturally it's going to get passed on to the kids.