Many observers describe the 21st century as a complex age with new demands for education and new requirements for accountability in teaching and learning to meet society's needs in a new, global economy. At the same time, innovations in teaching and learning and proposals for measuring them often seem disconnected from public and political discourse. In 1999, the National Research Council (NRC) published results of a two-year study of information technology literacy. Entitled "Being Fluent with Information Technology," the report acknowledged tendencies to focus on skills when approaching technology literacy. The report explained that literacy today requires a complement of knowledge and related abilities to be fluent in information technology (FIT). According to the report, FITness is a long-term process of self-expression, reformulation, and synthesis of knowledge in three realms: (1) Contemporary skills; (2) Foundational concepts; (3) Intellectual capabilities. The report offers an intellectual framework that can help distinguish between achievements and learning outcomes when assessing what competencies students need to have. In this article, the author discusses how the NRC report suggests new goals for instruction today that involve the educated use of modern information technology. (Contains 10 endnotes.)