1985 Honda Civic ignition module

Is therre a way to test the ignition module when it is removed from the car? My daughter's Honda would not start one morning after running fine previously. Upon checking it out, I found that there was no spark. I checked the coil's continuity, plug wires, etc, and finally decided to replace the ignition sensing module in the distributer. Upon finding out the cost, $250 for the Honda part, $135 for the aftermarket part, I would like to verify if the module is, in fact the problem. It is odd that it would just quit overnight with no reason. Thanks for the help.

Ralph