Oh good grief. 9720 minus 972 is not 9748.
I do math in my head like this:
972 ~ 1000, so I use 1000. 9720 - 1000 = 8720.
The difference of 1000 and 972 is 28, so I add back 28.
8720 plus 28 is 8748.
Easy.
Even if you do it the long way as in the graph, the shortcuts I use act as check/balance on the work. It's obvious that the answer should be in the neighborhood of 8720 (rounded to 8750, since 28 ~ 30).
Math fail.
Not that I would believe USA math education is much better.