diff --git a/python/cudf_polars/cudf_polars/dsl/ir.py b/python/cudf_polars/cudf_polars/dsl/ir.py
index 83957e4286d..3ccefac6b0a 100644
--- a/python/cudf_polars/cudf_polars/dsl/ir.py
+++ b/python/cudf_polars/cudf_polars/dsl/ir.py
@@ -196,7 +196,9 @@ def __post_init__(self) -> None:
         if self.file_options.n_rows is not None:
             raise NotImplementedError("row limit in scan")
         if self.typ not in ("csv", "parquet"):
-            raise NotImplementedError(f"Unhandled scan type: {self.typ}")
+            raise NotImplementedError(
+                f"Unhandled scan type: {self.typ}"
+            )  # pragma: no cover; polars raises on the rust side for now
 
     def evaluate(self, *, cache: MutableMapping[int, DataFrame]) -> DataFrame:
         """Evaluate and return a dataframe."""
diff --git a/python/cudf_polars/cudf_polars/testing/asserts.py b/python/cudf_polars/cudf_polars/testing/asserts.py
index 3edaa427432..a9a4ae5f0a6 100644
--- a/python/cudf_polars/cudf_polars/testing/asserts.py
+++ b/python/cudf_polars/cudf_polars/testing/asserts.py
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@
 from polars.testing.asserts import assert_frame_equal
 
 from cudf_polars.callback import execute_with_cudf
+from cudf_polars.dsl.translate import translate_ir
 
 if TYPE_CHECKING:
     from collections.abc import Mapping
@@ -19,7 +20,7 @@
 
     from cudf_polars.typing import OptimizationArgs
 
-__all__: list[str] = ["assert_gpu_result_equal"]
+__all__: list[str] = ["assert_gpu_result_equal", "assert_ir_translation_raises"]
 
 
 def assert_gpu_result_equal(
@@ -84,3 +85,34 @@ def assert_gpu_result_equal(
         atol=atol,
         categorical_as_str=categorical_as_str,
     )
+
+
+def assert_ir_translation_raises(q: pl.LazyFrame, *exceptions: type[Exception]) -> None:
+    """
+    Assert that translation of a query raises an exception.
+
+    Parameters
+    ----------
+    q
+        Query to translate.
+    exceptions
+        Exceptions that one expects might be raised.
+
+    Returns
+    -------
+    None
+        If translation successfully raised the specified exceptions.
+
+    Raises
+    ------
+    AssertionError
+       If the specified exceptions were not raised.
+    """
+    try:
+        _ = translate_ir(q._ldf.visit())
+    except exceptions:
+        return
+    except Exception as e:
+        raise AssertionError(f"Translation DID NOT RAISE {exceptions}") from e
+    else:
+        raise AssertionError(f"Translation DID NOT RAISE {exceptions}")
diff --git a/python/cudf_polars/docs/overview.md b/python/cudf_polars/docs/overview.md
index b50d01c26db..874bb849747 100644
--- a/python/cudf_polars/docs/overview.md
+++ b/python/cudf_polars/docs/overview.md
@@ -224,6 +224,24 @@ def test_whatever():
     assert_gpu_result_equal(query)
 ```
 
+## Test coverage and asserting failure modes
+
+Where translation of a query should fail due to the feature being
+unsupported we should test this. To assert that _translation_ raises
+an exception (usually `NotImplementedError`), use the utility function
+`assert_ir_translation_raises`:
+
+```python
+from cudf_polars.testing.asserts import assert_ir_translation_raises
+
+
+def test_whatever():
+    unsupported_query = ...
+    assert_ir_translation_raises(unsupported_query, NotImplementedError)
+```
+
+This test will fail if translation does not raise.
+
 # Debugging
 
 If the callback execution fails during the polars `collect` call, we
diff --git a/python/cudf_polars/tests/test_dataframescan.py b/python/cudf_polars/tests/test_dataframescan.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..1ffe06ac562
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/cudf_polars/tests/test_dataframescan.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2024 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import pytest
+
+import polars as pl
+
+from cudf_polars.testing.asserts import assert_gpu_result_equal
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "subset",
+    [
+        None,
+        ["a", "c"],
+        ["b", "c", "d"],
+        ["b", "d"],
+        ["b", "c"],
+        ["c", "e"],
+        ["d", "e"],
+        pl.selectors.string(),
+        pl.selectors.integer(),
+    ],
+)
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("predicate_pushdown", [False, True])
+def test_scan_drop_nulls(subset, predicate_pushdown):
+    df = pl.LazyFrame(
+        {
+            "a": [1, 2, 3, 4],
+            "b": [None, 4, 5, None],
+            "c": [6, 7, None, None],
+            "d": [8, None, 9, 10],
+            "e": [None, None, "A", None],
+        }
+    )
+    # Drop nulls are pushed into filters
+    q = df.drop_nulls(subset)
+
+    assert_gpu_result_equal(
+        q, collect_kwargs={"predicate_pushdown": predicate_pushdown}
+    )
diff --git a/python/cudf_polars/tests/test_scan.py b/python/cudf_polars/tests/test_scan.py
index b2443e357e2..f129cc7ca32 100644
--- a/python/cudf_polars/tests/test_scan.py
+++ b/python/cudf_polars/tests/test_scan.py
@@ -6,7 +6,10 @@
 
 import polars as pl
 
-from cudf_polars.testing.asserts import assert_gpu_result_equal
+from cudf_polars.testing.asserts import (
+    assert_gpu_result_equal,
+    assert_ir_translation_raises,
+)
 
 
 @pytest.fixture(
@@ -86,3 +89,11 @@ def test_scan(df, columns, mask):
     if columns is not None:
         q = df.select(*columns)
     assert_gpu_result_equal(q)
+
+
+def test_scan_unsupported_raises(tmp_path):
+    df = pl.DataFrame({"a": [1, 2, 3]})
+
+    df.write_ndjson(tmp_path / "df.json")
+    q = pl.scan_ndjson(tmp_path / "df.json")
+    assert_ir_translation_raises(q, NotImplementedError)
diff --git a/python/cudf_polars/tests/testing/__init__.py b/python/cudf_polars/tests/testing/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4611d642f14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/cudf_polars/tests/testing/__init__.py
@@ -0,0 +1,6 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2024 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+__all__: list[str] = []
diff --git a/python/cudf_polars/tests/testing/test_asserts.py b/python/cudf_polars/tests/testing/test_asserts.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..5bc2fe1efb7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/python/cudf_polars/tests/testing/test_asserts.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: Copyright (c) 2024 NVIDIA CORPORATION & AFFILIATES.
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import pytest
+
+import polars as pl
+
+from cudf_polars.testing.asserts import (
+    assert_gpu_result_equal,
+    assert_ir_translation_raises,
+)
+
+
+def test_translation_assert_raises():
+    df = pl.LazyFrame({"a": [1, 2, 3]})
+
+    # This should succeed
+    assert_gpu_result_equal(df)
+
+    with pytest.raises(AssertionError):
+        # This should fail, because we can translate this query.
+        assert_ir_translation_raises(df, NotImplementedError)
+
+    class E(Exception):
+        pass
+
+    unsupported = df.group_by("a").agg(pl.col("a").cum_max().alias("b"))
+    # Unsupported query should raise NotImplementedError
+    assert_ir_translation_raises(unsupported, NotImplementedError)
+
+    with pytest.raises(AssertionError):
+        # This should fail, because we can't translate this query, but it doesn't raise E.
+        assert_ir_translation_raises(unsupported, E)