diff --git a/tests/utils.py b/tests/utils.py
index 8de82bee82..1adc20d280 100644
--- a/tests/utils.py
+++ b/tests/utils.py
@@ -47,12 +47,16 @@ def test_pretrained_networks(network, input_param, device):
     return net
 
 
+def test_is_quick():
+    return os.environ.get(quick_test_var, "").lower() == "true"
+
+
 def skip_if_quick(obj):
     """
     Skip the unit tests if environment variable `quick_test_var=true`.
     For example, the user can skip the relevant tests by setting ``export QUICKTEST=true``.
     """
-    is_quick = os.environ.get(quick_test_var, "").lower() == "true"
+    is_quick = test_is_quick()
 
     return unittest.skipIf(is_quick, "Skipping slow tests")(obj)