Assessment of student learning within a degree program is an important but challenging endeavor. One goal of a programmatic assessment is to systematically collect evidence for chemistry majors' knowledge and understanding and to use the results to improve curriculum and instruction. Recently, the chemistry department at the United States Naval Academy developed a process to examine student learning in one particular thematic area of chemistry that was addressed in multiple courses throughout the entire curriculum, namely bonding. The assessment included the creation and implementation of an in-house-written, program-level assessment instrument administered to chemistry students at the end of the ACS-certified major. The exam, consisting of 13 free-response items, was collaboratively authored by a group of chemistry department faculty representing the 5 major subdisciplines recognized by the ACS Committee on Professional Training (analytical, biochemistry, inorganic, organic, and physical). Following administration of the instrument to 31 senior chemistry majors, analysis of student work revealed incomplete understanding and errors in process in several areas, including valence bond theory and ligand field theory. These results informed the design of further assessments conducted within the foundation-level lecture courses in the sophomore and junior years of the chemistry major and provided important information on possible areas of improvement within our curriculum.