# CogMath: Assessing LLMs' Authentic Mathematical Ability from a Human Cognitive Perspective

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.04481 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.04481/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 4 Jun 2025.

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Pruning Long Chain-of-Thought of Large Reasoning Models via Small-Scale Preference Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.10164/) (2025)
- [UniCog: Uncovering Cognitive Abilities of LLMs through Latent Mind Space Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.17897/) (2026)
- [Decoupling Understanding from Reasoning via Problem Space Mapping for Small-Scale Model Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.10019/) (2025)
- [On the use of foundation models in cognitive science](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.07812/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Although large language models (LLMs) show promise in solving complex mathematical tasks, existing evaluation paradigms rely solely on a coarse measure of overall answer accuracy, which are insufficient for assessing their authentic capabilities. In this paper, we propose CogMath, which comprehensively assesses LLMs' mathematical abilities through the lens of human cognition. Specifically, inspired by psychological theories, CogMath formalizes human reasoning process into 3 stages: problem comprehension, problem solving, and solution summarization. Within these stages, we investigate perspectives such as numerical calculation, knowledge, and counterfactuals, and design a total of 9 fine-grained evaluation dimensions. In each dimension, we develop an ``Inquiry-Judge-Reference'' multi-agent system to generate inquiries that assess LLMs' mastery from this dimension. An LLM is considered to truly master a problem only when excelling in all inquiries from the 9 dimensions. By applying CogMath on three benchmarks, we reveal that the mathematical capabilities of 7 mainstream LLMs are overestimated by 30%-40%. Moreover, we locate their strengths and weaknesses across specific stages/dimensions, offering in-depth insights to further enhance their reasoning abilities.