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Main Authors: Wu, Wenxun, Li, Yuanyang, Chen, Guhan, Wang, Linyue, Chen, Hongyang
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.07038
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author Wu, Wenxun
Li, Yuanyang
Chen, Guhan
Wang, Linyue
Chen, Hongyang
author_facet Wu, Wenxun
Li, Yuanyang
Chen, Guhan
Wang, Linyue
Chen, Hongyang
contents Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have popularized test-time scaling, where models generate additional reasoning tokens before producing final answers. These approaches have demonstrated significant performance improvements on benchmarks involving mathematical reasoning. However, language models relying solely on direct inference still struggle with tasks demanding up-to-date knowledge or computational tools such as calculators and code interpreters for complex arithmetic operations. To overcome these limitations, we propose Tool-Augmented Policy Optimization (TAPO), a novel reinforcement learning framework that systematically integrates multi-hop reasoning with adaptive tool-calling capabilities. Our approach employs a modified version of Dynamic Sampling Policy Optimization (DAPO), a recently developed RL paradigm, which we adapt specifically for tool invocation scenarios, enabling models to dynamically interleave complex reasoning with on-demand tool usage (including search APIs and Python interpreters). To support this research, we introduce two new datasets: TAPO-easy-60K and TAPO-hard-18K, specifically designed to train and evaluate both fact-based reasoning and mathematical calculation capabilities. Our experiments on Qwen2.5-3B and Qwen2.5-7B models demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, with both models achieving state-of-the-art performance on tasks requiring external knowledge and mathematical computation among methods with comparable parameters. Notably, TAPO achieves more efficient tool utilization than baseline methods while preventing excessive calls caused by reward hacking. These results highlight the significant potential of combining advanced reasoning with tool usage to enhance model performance in knowledge-intensive and computationally demanding tasks.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_07038
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publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Tool-Augmented Policy Optimization: Synergizing Reasoning and Adaptive Tool Use with Reinforcement Learning
Wu, Wenxun
Li, Yuanyang
Chen, Guhan
Wang, Linyue
Chen, Hongyang
Artificial Intelligence
Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have popularized test-time scaling, where models generate additional reasoning tokens before producing final answers. These approaches have demonstrated significant performance improvements on benchmarks involving mathematical reasoning. However, language models relying solely on direct inference still struggle with tasks demanding up-to-date knowledge or computational tools such as calculators and code interpreters for complex arithmetic operations. To overcome these limitations, we propose Tool-Augmented Policy Optimization (TAPO), a novel reinforcement learning framework that systematically integrates multi-hop reasoning with adaptive tool-calling capabilities. Our approach employs a modified version of Dynamic Sampling Policy Optimization (DAPO), a recently developed RL paradigm, which we adapt specifically for tool invocation scenarios, enabling models to dynamically interleave complex reasoning with on-demand tool usage (including search APIs and Python interpreters). To support this research, we introduce two new datasets: TAPO-easy-60K and TAPO-hard-18K, specifically designed to train and evaluate both fact-based reasoning and mathematical calculation capabilities. Our experiments on Qwen2.5-3B and Qwen2.5-7B models demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, with both models achieving state-of-the-art performance on tasks requiring external knowledge and mathematical computation among methods with comparable parameters. Notably, TAPO achieves more efficient tool utilization than baseline methods while preventing excessive calls caused by reward hacking. These results highlight the significant potential of combining advanced reasoning with tool usage to enhance model performance in knowledge-intensive and computationally demanding tasks.
title Tool-Augmented Policy Optimization: Synergizing Reasoning and Adaptive Tool Use with Reinforcement Learning
topic Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.07038