diff --git a/tests/test_expcodes.m b/tests/test_expcodes.m
index c7406f1280d1b0f4bcc614d157224cd31183be81..c1460ff7e47e1bbd58ab0d788f92240f597149d9 100644
--- a/tests/test_expcodes.m
+++ b/tests/test_expcodes.m
@@ -33,10 +33,15 @@ classdef test_expcodes < matlab.unittest.TestCase
   methods(Test)
     function test_expcode(testCase)
       % attempt compiling tcv.slx for this expcode
-      tcv([],[],[],'compile');
-      tcv([],[],[],'term');
+      try
+        tcv([],[],[],'compile');
+        tcv([],[],[],'term');
+      catch ME
+        tcv([],[],[],'term');
+        rethrow(ME)
+      end
       testCase.assertTrue(true); % dummy
     end
     
   end
-end
\ No newline at end of file
+end