diff --git a/lib/valkyrie/specs/shared_specs/resource.rb b/lib/valkyrie/specs/shared_specs/resource.rb
index 84f577fa4..10f776ac5 100644
--- a/lib/valkyrie/specs/shared_specs/resource.rb
+++ b/lib/valkyrie/specs/shared_specs/resource.rb
@@ -121,8 +121,8 @@ class MyCustomResource < Valkyrie::Resource
     it "can set values with string properties, but will throw a deprecation error" do
       resource_klass.attribute :string_property
 
-      resource = resource_klass.new("string_property" => "bla")
-      expect { resource_klass.new("string_property" => "bla") }.to output(/\[DEPRECATION\]/).to_stderr
+      resource = nil
+      expect { resource = resource_klass.new("string_property" => "bla") }.to output(/\[DEPRECATION\]/).to_stderr
 
       expect(resource.string_property).to eq ["bla"]
       resource_klass.schema.delete(:string_property)