Evolutionary Task Discovery: Advancing Reasoning Frontiers via Skill Composition and Complexity Scaling
On the map: LLM reasoning → Reinforcement learning for reasoning
Abstract (arXiv)
The reasoning frontier of Large Language Models (LLMs) has advanced significantly through modern post-training paradigms (e.g., Reinforcement Learning from Verifiable Rewards (RLVR)). However, the efficacy of these methods remains fundamentally constrained by the diversity and complexity of the training data. One practical solution is data synthesis; yet, prevalent methods relying on unstructured mutation or exploration suffer from homogeneity collapse, failing to systematically expand the reasoning frontier. To overcome this, we propose Evoutionary Task Discovery (EvoTD), a framework that treats data synthesis as a directed search over a dual-axis manifold of Algorithmic Skills and Complexity Attributes. We introduce structured evolutionary operators to navigate this space: a Crossover operator that synthesizes novel skill compositions to enhance diversity, and a Parametric Mutation operator that scales structural constraints (e.g., input size, tree depth) to drive robust generalization. Crucially, we integrate a dynamic Zone of Proximal Development filter, ensuring tasks lie within the learnable region of the model. Empirically, EvoTD delivers substantial reasoning gains that generalize consistently across model architectures, pretraining regimes, and scales, demonstrating that structured evolutionary curricula can effectively support reasoning improvement. We release our code on https://github.com/liqinye/EvoTD.
Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Reinforcement learning for reasoning, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning. Builds on 35 of its 60 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 12 May 2026.
Builds on
35 of 60 references.
Closest ancestors · 7
Same direction, newest first
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- 2025DAPO: An Open-Source LLM Reinforcement Learning System at Scale18 Mar
- 2024Tulu 3: Pushing Frontiers in Open Language Model Post-Training22 Nov
- 2017Proximal Policy Optimization Algorithms20 Jul
Other references · 28
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