Disentangling Text and Math in Word Problems: Evidence for the Bidimensional Structure of Large Language Models’ Reasoning (2025.findings-acl)
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Pedro Calais, Gabriel Franco, Zilu Tang, Themistoklis Nikas, Wagner Meira Jr., Evimaria Terzi, Mark Crovella
| Challenge: | Existing studies show that LLMs struggle with text interpretation and equation solving, despite distinct proficiencies in textual and mathematical components. |
| Approach: | They disentangle textual interpretation and mathematical solving steps in word problems drawn from Brazil's largest college entrance exam and popular grade school-level benchmark GSM8K. |
| Outcome: | The proposed model outperforms LLMs in Brazil's largest college entrance exam and popular grade school-level benchmark. |
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