diff --git a/ibis/expr/tests/test_api.py b/ibis/expr/tests/test_api.py
index 768f6a0eae3c..f58e58471614 100644
--- a/ibis/expr/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/ibis/expr/tests/test_api.py
@@ -149,7 +149,7 @@ def test_memtable_column_names_match_schema():
     df = pd.DataFrame([[1, 2], [3, 4]])
     schema = {"a": "int64", "b": "int64"}
     t = ibis.memtable(df, schema=schema)
-    t.a.execute()  # Raises a KeyError if the column name does not match
+    assert t.op().data.to_frame().columns.tolist() == ["a", "b"]
 
 
 @pytest.mark.parametrize(