▼ The study proposes an alternative approach to studying interpersonal trust. The researcher uses the Rasch analysis to design a quantitative instrument that can be used to measure trust when exploring the effects that various aspects of educational environment have on students’ experiences. Prior empirical studies examined trust from a qualitative perspective: through the description of participants’ beliefs, experiences and behaviors (Blomqvist, 1997). As a result, there is no definition of trust agreed upon by different academic disciplines because most existing theories identify trust by describing its attributes rather than measuring it directly (Bloomqvist). Earlier attempts to use the Rasch model in educational research demonstrated that the Rasch analysis enables a creation of a rigorous measure useful for focused exploration of complex phenomena common in educational environment (Fisher, 1991; Irwin & Irwin, 2005; Johnson et al., 1995). The proposed measure relies on two theories of trust: first, the study of Bryk and Schneider (2002), who describe trust as the mutual positive evaluation of the relations participants according to four components: respect, competence, regard for others, and integrity. The second theory is Lewis and Weigert’s (1985) interpretation of trust as a tri-level phenomenon, which consists of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components. After a series of instrument calibrations, the researcher added one more level to Lewis and Weigert’s theory, loyalty, thus, creating a 4X4 matrix-type measure of trust. The alternative measure was tested in a pilot study, which demonstrated that the measure captures the overall structure of trust and can help detect the differences in trust due to participants’ demographic and/or socio-cultural characteristics. The instrument requires further calibrations; but it has a potential to contribute to theory and practice of education. The study is set in a context of a university-based ESL program as the power asymmetry and lack of sense of belonging makes trust more prominently placed as a part of the educational process. Advisors/Committee Members: Snauwaert, Dale.