Problem-based digital learning (PBDL) has become a popular method in mathematics education. Many researchers have measured its effectiveness in mathematics. However, few studies have rigorously assessed PBDL’s effectiveness in vocational high school mathematics courses, and those that have done so have paid limited attention to its impact on students’ mathematics proficiency and creative problem solving. Moreover, the measurement approaches used in this existing research make it difficult to monitor the dynamic mastery process of students’ abilities. Hence, this study conducted a quasi-experiment on PBDL and used the Multigroup Transition Diagnostic Model (MTDCM) and the Wald test to explore the effectiveness of PBDL in vocational high school mathematics over time, especially its impact on students’ mathematics proficiency and creative problem solving. The findings indicate that: (1) PBDL greatly improves vocational high school students’ mathematics proficiency and creative problem solving; (2) While a teacher-centered classroom enhances vocational high school students’ mathematics proficiency, it is less effective in fostering their creative problem solving compared to PBDL; (3) As time lapses, mathematics proficiency can be quickly acquired and forgotten, while creative problem solving is harder to acquire and lose. This study confirms the effectiveness of the PBDL in vocational mathematics education, introduces longitudinal assessment to assess pedagogical effectiveness, and provides detailed information on students’ ability mastery, which may aid educational stakeholders in refining teaching strategies for vocational education. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2025.
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