Enhancing students' problem solving skills is one of the primary educational challenges. For students to succeed, it is essential to determine the elements that best develop problem-solving abilities. Using SEM, a model that shows how self-efficacy, grit, utility value, help seeking behavior and executive control contribute to problem solving efficiency was developed. The path analysis, combined with students' explanation, provided strong support for the framework, and among the determinants, utility value and executive control, exerted a significant influence on problem solving proficiency. The implication of these findings is that enhancement of students' higher-order cognitive processes involved in planning, monitoring and regulating cognition and their perceptions of task usefulness should be the main goals of interventions designed to increase problem-solving abilities.