Beyond Solving Math Quiz: Evaluating the Ability of Large Reasoning Models to Ask for Information

Large Reasoning Models (LRMs) have demonstrated remarkable problem-solving abilities in mathematics, as evaluated by existing benchmarks exclusively on well-defined problems. However, such evaluation setup constitutes a critical gap, since a genuine intelligent agent should not only solve problems (as a math quiz solver), but also be able~to ask for information when the problems lack sufficient information, enabling proactivity in responding users' requests. To bridge such gap, we proposes a new dataset consisting of two types of incomplete problems with diverse contexts. Based on the dataset, our systematical evaluation of LRMs reveals their inability in proactively asking for information. In addition, we uncover the behaviors related to overthinking and hallucination of LRMs, and highlight the potential and challenges of supervised fine-tuning in learning such ability. We hope to provide new insights in developing LRMs with genuine intelligence, rather than just solving problems.

Publication Details

Journal
ArXiv.org
Published
2025-08-15
Primary Topic
Theoretical and Computational Physics
Type
article
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article

Beyond Solving Math Quiz: Evaluating the Ability of Large Reasoning Models to Ask for Information

ArXiv.org
Theoretical and Computational Physics
article

Beyond Solving Math Quiz: Evaluating the Ability of Large Reasoning Models to Ask for Information

article en

Abstract

Large Reasoning Models (LRMs) have demonstrated remarkable problem-solving abilities in mathematics, as evaluated by existing benchmarks exclusively on well-defined problems. However, such evaluation setup constitutes a critical gap, since a genuine intelligent agent should not only solve problems (as a math quiz solver), but also be able~to ask for information when the problems lack sufficient information, enabling proactivity in responding users' requests. To bridge such gap, we proposes a new dataset consisting of two types of incomplete problems with diverse contexts. Based on the dataset, our systematical evaluation of LRMs reveals their inability in proactively asking for information. In addition, we uncover the behaviors related to overthinking and hallucination of LRMs, and highlight the potential and challenges of supervised fine-tuning in learning such ability. We hope to provide new insights in developing LRMs with genuine intelligence, rather than just solving problems.

ArXiv.org
Openalex Percentile: Top 55%
Theoretical and Computational Physics
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Beyond Solving Math Quiz: Evaluating the Ability of Large Reasoning Models to Ask for Information · ArXiv.org (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS