Create a new course Go to the course question bank On the categories tab, create a new category 'Apples', with parent = Top for course On the categories tab, create a new category 'Bananas', with parent = Apples Add a question to each of the categories, Apples and Bananas. Export, as xml format, and making sure to select 'Top for course' as the export category when exporting. Create a new course Go to question bank Select import tab, pick xml type and upload the file Go to 'Categories' tab and verify that 'Apples' category contains 1 question (see the (1)) and 'Bananas' another question (as in the original course) It should match this screenshot verify you don't see any 'top' category listed.