diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/js/spec/video/video_speed_control_spec.js b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/js/spec/video/video_speed_control_spec.js
index 13a5705238..2684fb738e 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/js/spec/video/video_speed_control_spec.js
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/js/spec/video/video_speed_control_spec.js
@@ -140,20 +140,22 @@
       });
 
       describe('make sure the speed control gets the focus afterwards', function() {
-          beforeEach(function() {
+        var anchor;
+        beforeEach(function() {
           initialize();
+          anchor= $('.speeds > a').first();
           videoSpeedControl.setSpeed(1.0);
-          spyOnEvent(state.videoSpeedControl.mainAnchor, 'focus');
+          spyOnEvent(anchor, 'focus');
         });
 
         it('when the speed is the same', function() {
           $('li[data-speed="1.0"] a').click();
-          expect('focus').toHaveBeenTriggeredOn(state.videoSpeedControl.mainAnchor);
+          expect('focus').toHaveBeenTriggeredOn(anchor);
         });
 
         it('when the speed is not the same', function() {
           $('li[data-speed="0.75"] a').click();
-          expect('focus').toHaveBeenTriggeredOn(state.videoSpeedControl.mainAnchor);
+          expect('focus').toHaveBeenTriggeredOn(anchor);
         });
       });
     });
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/js/src/video/08_video_speed_control.js b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/js/src/video/08_video_speed_control.js
index 2ba8a30144..67f62edf95 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/js/src/video/08_video_speed_control.js
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/js/src/video/08_video_speed_control.js
@@ -62,8 +62,6 @@ function () {
 
         state.videoSpeedControl.el = state.el.find('div.speeds');
 
-        state.videoSpeedControl.mainAnchor = state.videoSpeedControl.el.children('a');
-
         state.videoSpeedControl.videoSpeedsEl = state.videoSpeedControl.el
             .find('.video_speeds');