diff --git a/Lib/test/test_strlit.py b/Lib/test/test_strlit.py
index 30475a441b9..6bdc6e4e8a2 100644
--- a/Lib/test/test_strlit.py
+++ b/Lib/test/test_strlit.py
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ def setUp(self):
         sys.path.insert(0, self.tmpdir)
 
     def tearDown(self):
-        sys.path = self.save_path
+        sys.path[:] = self.save_path
         shutil.rmtree(self.tmpdir, ignore_errors=True)
 
     def test_template(self):