diff --git a/libtest/lib.rs b/libtest/lib.rs
index 2dcc0e3..f8f5284 100644
--- a/libtest/lib.rs
+++ b/libtest/lib.rs
@@ -305,12 +305,14 @@ pub fn test_main_static(tests: &[&TestDescAndFn]) {
 /// and checks for a `0` result.
 pub fn assert_test_result<T: Termination>(result: T) {
     let code = result.report();
-    assert_eq!(
-        code, 0,
-        "the test returned a termination value with a non-zero status code ({}) \
-         which indicates a failure",
-        code
-    );
+    if code != 0 {
+        panic!(
+            "the test returned a termination value with a non-zero status code ({}) \
+                which indicates a failure (this most likely means your test returned \
+                an `Err(_)` value)",
+            code,
+        );
+    }
 }
 
 #[derive(Copy, Clone, Debug)]