Character Counts

Abstract:

Character is not an optional virtue added to education after the “real work” of academics is complete. Character is the foundation on which trust, learning, leadership, and school culture are built. This article updates prior reflections on student integrity and school trust, drawing on current research showing that intentional character formation and social-emotional development are associated with stronger academic, behavioral, and relational outcomes. It also provides practical applications for school leaders, faculty and staff, parents, and Christian schools committed to forming students whose words, choices, and habits are worthy of trust.

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People trust those who do the right thing, especially when it is costly, inconvenient, or unseen. The problem of failing to do the right thing goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden, yet every generation seems surprised when surveys reveal that our stated beliefs and actual behaviors do not always match. Earlier reports from the Josephson Institute of Ethics documented troubling patterns of stealing, lying, cheating, and plagiarism among high school students. More recent academic integrity research confirms the same basic reality: students still face significant pressures to cut corners, conceal mistakes, and redefine dishonesty when the incentives around them reward performance more than formation.¹

The International Center for Academic Integrity summarizes Don McCabe’s surveys of more than 70,000 high school students, reporting that 64% admitted cheating on a test, 58% admitted plagiarism, and 95% participated in some form of cheating. A 2026 high school study on generative AI did not find that AI suddenly led to increased dishonesty; rather, it found that overall self-reported cheating rates remained historically high at 72.06%, while students increasingly used AI tools for explanation, brainstorming, and school-related tasks. The issue, then, is not merely technological. It is moral, cultural, and formative. ²³

“The issue is not merely technological. It is moral, cultural, and formative.”

That is why character counts. It counts in the classroom when a student tells the truth about an unfinished assignment. It counts on the athletic field when a player accepts correction. It counts in the faculty room when adults speak with integrity about students, parents, and colleagues. It counts in the boardroom when leaders choose transparency instead of image management. Character is not a slogan for posters in the hallway. It is the lived alignment between beliefs, words, decisions, and habits.

Consider the story of Riverbend Academy*. The school had strong academics, a polished admissions program, and attractive facilities. Yet parents were quietly frustrated. Faculty meetings had become guarded. Students knew that some rules mattered and others did not. The crisis arrived when several juniors submitted nearly identical AI-assisted essays. Initially, the administrative team treated the incident as a technology violation. But the head of school, after listening to students and teachers, recognized a deeper concern. Students were not simply asking,

“What is allowed?” They were asking, “What kind of people are we becoming?”

Riverbend responded by doing more than updating a handbook. Leaders clarified expectations, taught academic integrity directly, redesigned assessments, held parent forums, and invited teachers to model ethical use of tools rather than pretend the tools did not exist. Assembly messages, advisory conversations, faculty development, and disciplinary practices began to reinforce the same message: truthfulness is not merely a school rule; it is a community commitment. Over time, trust increased because students, parents, and faculty saw alignment between stated values and daily practice.

Research supports this connection between character formation and school outcomes. Benninga, Berkowitz, Kuehn, and Smith’s study of California elementary schools found that schools with higher character education implementation tended to have higher academic scores before, during, and after their application year. William Jeynes’s meta-analysis of 52 studies found that character education was associated with higher educational outcomes and greater expressions of love, integrity, compassion, and self-discipline. The Learning Policy Institute’s review of social and emotional learning research similarly reports that evidence-based programs improve prosocial behaviors, relationships, engagement, and academic performance when they are implemented well and sustained systemically. ⁴⁵⁶

“Character is the lived alignment between beliefs, words, decisions, and habits.”

This is also why character is central to trusted leadership. The Edelman Trust Barometer surveyed nearly 34,000 respondents across 28 countries and placed questions of ethics, competence, and institutional trust at the center of public life. Schools are not exempt from this trust crisis. In fact, schools may feel it more personally because trust in education is relational before it is institutional. Parents do not merely ask whether a school has programs. They ask whether the adults in the school can be trusted with their children. Teachers do not merely ask whether leaders have plans.

They ask whether leaders will act consistently with the mission when decisions become difficult.⁷

In the TrustED® framework, character belongs to the Foundation: Beliefs & Values. Without a strong foundation, the rest of the bridge cannot safely carry the load. Communication may be polished, systems may be efficient, and programs may be impressive, but if stakeholders perceive a gap between what leaders say and what leaders do, trust erodes. Once trust erodes, everything takes longer, costs more, and produces less.

The application for school leaders is clear: model the character you expect. Do not delegate integrity to the student handbook or the Bible teacher. Leaders build trust when they tell the truth, admit mistakes, keep commitments, protect confidentiality, and apply expectations consistently. The application for faculty and staff is equally practical: teach character through routines, feedback, grading practices, hallway conversations, and the way adults speak about one another. Students learn integrity not only from lessons about honesty but from the moral ecology adults create.

For parents, the application begins with partnership. Schools can reinforce character, but they cannot replace the formative power of the home. Parents build trust when they support just consequences, resist the temptation to excuse dishonesty for the sake of grades or scholarships, and praise truthfulness even when truthfulness reveals failure. For Christian schools, the application is still deeper. Character formation is not simply preparation for college, career, or citizenship. It is discipleship. Christian education should form students who increasingly love what is true, good, and beautiful as they learn to follow Christ in every subject, relationship, and responsibility.

“Students learn integrity not only from lessons about honesty but from the moral ecology adults create.”

Has your school suffered from a lack of character that diminished trust? Then begin where trust always begins: with honest assessment, humble leadership, clear expectations, consistent actions, and patient repair. Character cannot be microwaved into a culture through an assembly or a poster campaign. It must be cultivated over time through repeated choices that align with the school’s beliefs and values. When that happens, trust grows. When trust grows, schools become healthier places for students to learn, teachers to serve, parents to partner, and leaders to lead.

Practical Applications

Stakeholder	Application
School Leaders	Audit policies and practices are aligned with the stated mission, beliefs, and values. Publicly model truth-telling, accountability, confidentiality, and consistency.
Faculty and Staff	Teach and reinforce character through expectations, feedback, classroom routines, grading practices, and adult-to-adult interactions.
Parents	Partner with the school by supporting integrity-based consequences and praising honesty even when honesty reveals failure.
Christian Schools	Frame character formation as discipleship, connecting truthfulness, humility, responsibility, and love of neighbor to following Christ.

Endnotes

*Name changed to protect privacy and confidentiality.

1. Josephson Institute of Ethics, “CHARACTER COUNTS!: Programs: Ethics of American Youth Survey: Josephson Institute’s Report Card,” cited in the original article draft; see also Jason Rich, 2011, http://charactercounts.org/programs/reportcard/2010/installment02_report-card_honesty-integrity.html.

2. International Center for Academic Integrity, “Facts & Statistics,” summarizing Don McCabe’s surveys of more than 70,000 high school students at more than 24 U.S. high schools, https://academicintegrity.org/aws/ICAI/pt/sp/facts.

3. Ruishi Chen, Victor R. Lee, Annie Camey Kuo, Denise Clark Pope, and Sarah Miles, “Cheating in the Second Year of Generative AI Chatbots: A Follow-Up Study on High School Student Cheating Behaviors,” Educational Technology Research and Development (2026), https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11423-026-10587-1.

4. Jacques S. Benninga, Marvin W. Berkowitz, Phyllis Kuehn, and Karen Smith, “The Relationship of Character Education Implementation and Academic Achievement in Elementary Schools,” Journal of Research in Character Education 1, no. 1 (2003): 19–32.

5. William H. Jeynes, “A Meta-Analysis on the Relationship between Character Education and Student Achievement and Behavioral Outcomes,” Education and Urban Society 51, no. 1 (2019): 33–71, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1199237.

6. Mark T. Greenberg, Evidence for Social and Emotional Learning in Schools, Learning Policy Institute, https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/evidence-social-emotional-learning-schools-report.

7. Edelman Trust Institute, “2026 Edelman Trust Barometer,” published January 2026; survey fielded October 23–November 18, 2025, with nearly 34,000 respondents across 28 countries, https://www.edelman.com/trust/2026/trust-barometer.

About the Author

Toby A. Travis, Ed.D., is a school leader, consultant, author, and founder of the TrustED^® framework. His work focuses on helping schools strengthen trusted leadership, improve organizational health, and build cultures where students, families, faculty, and staff can flourish. Dr. Travis has served schools and educational organizations in the United States and internationally through leadership, consulting, assessment, training, and professional development.

©2026 Toby A. Travis. All rights reserved.