Marietta City Schools Board of Education members made an important decision for students this week when they approved Superintendent Mary Schaeffer’s recommendation to return to pencil-and-paper testing for third grade students.

It’s tempting to think students of any age are adept at using — and being flexible with — technology these days, but that’s simply not the case. In fact, Schaeffer said some students may be struggling because of their unfamiliarity with keyboards, rather than what they are being taught.

As she pointed out, students at Marietta Elementary School do not have consistent access to keyboards until third grade, which means using computers to test those students could create a problem for those who are not yet comfortable. Teachers also said there are keyboard shortcut differences between what is used on a Google Docs page and what is used for the state testing program. That, too, affects students’ scores.

If you work in an office where there is an adult or two with difficulty adapting from one platform to another, you can understand why it is essential we don’t put children through the same frustrations while they’re trying to learn the basics.

“I’ve been really impressed with how (teachers have) all taken the data and gone with it,” said Marietta Elementary School Principal Brittany Schob. “They saw that data and said, ‘We need to work on writing.'”

More work on writing and a return to pencil-and-paper state testing doesn’t mean schools are ditching the technology altogether. They’re just building a better bridge to heavier use of technology by older students.

Bravo, to the teachers and administrators who advocated for such an improvement; and to the board, for giving it the go-ahead.