Performance on original and a Chinese version of Trail Making Test Part B: a normative bilingual sample

This study examined an equivalent of Trail Making Test Part B for native Chinese speakers. Digit Symbol Coding and Trail Making Test Parts A and B were administered to American and Chinese students from an American university. The Chinese group also took a modified Trails B test where numbers in Chinese characters replaced English letters. Independent-samples t tests showed no difference between American and Chinese groups on the Digit Symbol Coding and Trails A, but a difference on Trails B (p < .05). The Chinese group's modified Trails B performance showed no difference from the American group's original Trails B performance. These findings suggest equivalence of Digit Symbol Coding and Trails A for American and Chinese groups, but a longer Trails B completion time for the Chinese group. This finding indicates a language bias of Trails B for Chinese-English bilinguals. Thus, the Chinese version of Trails B is preferable for native Chinese speakers.