Media literacy, the abilities "to access, analyze, evaluate, and communicate information in a variety of forms" (NAMLE), is necessary to help people understand the information presented to them and make informed decisions. However, despite decades of work to include media literacy education in academic learning (Hobbs and Jensen 2009), American education continues to emphasize its focus on testing of traditional literacy. While there must be continued efforts to teach new literacies in mainstream education, it is also crucial for educators to understand how traditional literacies can be supported by media literacy in ways that meet the demands of today's high-stakes testing environment. This article strives to do just that: detail key links between literacy in its most traditional sense and how people are reading and writing in the 21st century so educators can immediately help learners build media literacy skills while developing traditionally tested skills and critical thinking abilities demanded in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) initiative. (Contains 1 table and 9 footnotes.)