diff --git a/u01/tests.cpp b/u01/tests.cpp
index f6e384d..49ace8d 100644
--- a/u01/tests.cpp
+++ b/u01/tests.cpp
@@ -3,6 +3,16 @@
 
 #include "node.h"
 
+int get_node_id(node *n) {
+  // TODO: ensure the test calling this starts at node_id 0 (currently this is
+  // undefined based on order the tests are run)
+  // for the time being, this gets the offset
+  int id = std::stoi(n->get_name().substr(5));
+  // this tests if the node id was correctly extracted
+  REQUIRE(n->get_name() == "node_" + std::to_string(id));
+  return id;
+}
+
 TEST_CASE("Name") {
   node *n = new node("test");
   REQUIRE(n->get_name() == "test");
@@ -37,11 +47,7 @@ TEST_CASE("Get children") {
 TEST_CASE("Global node counting") {
   node *n = new node();
 
-  // TODO: ensure this test starts at node_id 0 (currently this is undefined
-  // based on order the tests are run) for the time being, this gets the offset
-  int node_id_start = std::stoi(n->get_name().substr(5));
-  // this tests if the node id was correctly extracted
-  REQUIRE(n->get_name() == "node_" + std::to_string(node_id_start));
+  const int node_id_start = get_node_id(n);
 
   for (std::size_t i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
     n->add_child(new node());