Cognition · Software component
Entailment Step Validator
Software componentCognitionCognition & Memoryarc:EntailmentStepValidator
A reasoning-step validator that checks whether a step's conclusion units are entailed by its premises and prior context, crediting the step when entailment probability exceeds a threshold.
Responsibility. Verifies intra-step logical validity of reasoning steps.
Also known as: Intra-step correctness checker, Entailment-based assessment
Relationships
is configured by structural
invokes dependency
is invoked by dependency
receives data from dynamic
sends data to dynamic
- Reasoning Quality Scorer abstract Ch3.9
is evaluated by assurance
Design guidance
- MUST give the entailment check access to all prior reasoning and input context (or a window of the last K steps plus input).
Quantitative guidance
As stated by the sources; verify before use.
- Entailment threshold typically 0.7-0.8, calibrated against human judgments (Ch3.9).
- An agent with 95% task success but 65% intra-step correctness reaches right answers through wrong reasoning (Ch3.9 illustration).
Classification
- Patterns
- Intra-step correctness rate = steps with validly entailed conclusions / total steps
- Risks mitigated
- Unsupported logical leapsNon-sequitursDecontextualized evaluation error
Sources
- Ch3.9: T. Nguyen, "Reasoning Quality," in Mastering Agentic AI Systems: Guide for the NVIDIA NCP-AAI Exam, 1st ed. 2026, ch. 3.9. ISBN: 9798244538229.